The Fallen Hero
by HyruleHero654
Summary: After losing a battle against Ganondorf, the King of Evil, Link wakes up in a strange new world. He ends up as a tribute in a barbaric event known as the Hunger Games, and decides he will save this world before returning to his own. But that ends up being harder than Link could have ever predicted, especially since his past refuses to stay where it belongs. Set in LoZTP and THG.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Disclaimer: I do not own the Legend of Zelda or The Hunger Games. I am earning no profit from this story other than the enjoyment of writing it and sharing it with others. I hope you all enjoy reading it! Feel free to let me know what you think by giving this chapter a review.**

I stare at the limp body of Ganondorf and his dark horse intently, hoping they will not get up. A sudden wind stirs up a cloud of dust, obscuring the Dark Lord from view. Zelda and I sit on Epona's back, not daring to look at each other, nor approach the dust storm. Finally, the dust clears, revealing Ganondorf. He is sitting up on one knee. His dark steed is completely gone, not even a corpse is left. Ganondorf pushes himself up to a standing position, but I can tell the action requires quite a bit of effort. Nonetheless, the Dark Lord stands up, and begins laughing. The sound is terrifying. It sounds raspy, as if the man hadn't laughed in ages. It sounds like death itself. The Triforce of Courage on my left hand begins pulsing brightly, making sure no fear makes its way into my heart.

At last, the Gerudo quits laughing, and looks me straight in the eye. "An impressive looking blade," he begins. "But nothing more." Ganondorf holds up the sword he had stolen, the Sword of the Sages. He begins to unsheath it as he talks. "Would you hear my desire?" I do not respond, but hurriedly dismount Epona, and pull out my blade of choice, the Master Sword. "To take this foul blade… and use it to blot out the light forever!" Ganondorf strides confidently towards me, and I finally notice just how tall he is. He is much taller than me, almost double my size. His sword alone is as long as I am, and yet he can comfortably hold it in his huge fist. The Dark Lord abruptly stops walking, and I hear Epona whinny loudly from behind me. I risk a glance backwards, and notice Ganondorf has put up a barrier of Twilight, separating the two of us from Zelda and Epona. I quickly shift my attention back to my enemy. I tense, preparing for the fight ahead. It will be me versus Ganondorf, no help from Zelda or Midna.

I must win for the princess and Hyrule yes, but I am doing this for Midna, who sacrificed herself, so I could be standing here now. Midna, the silly imp that had annoyed me ever so much in the beginning. But now, after spending so much time with just her, my feelings are complicated. All I know for sure is that Ganondorf will pay for taking her from me. Ganondorf brandishes his holy white blade, that should not be in his ugly, evil hands. And yet it is, and I will just have to deal with it. I rush forward hoping to end this quickly. I throw every fancy sword move I know at Ganondorf, and yet he easily parries each one. I take a step back to catch my breath, and now it's the Dark Lord's turn to be on the offensive. He walks towards me and swings his sword horizontally. I raise my sword to parry, but the large man swings hard, and I barely keep my balance. I back up a step and swing the Blade of Evil's Bane just as Ganondorf swings the Sword of the Sages. The two blades collide, and the sound of metal grinding against metal rings out across the arena. Ganondorf doesn't pull his blade away and instead begins pushing hard against my sword. I'm not going to back off, and push against his sword with all my strength. My face contorts into a snarl as I put all my energy into pushing against the glowing, white sword. I push harder and harder, and force Ganondorf to one knee. I push one final time, and the huge Gerudo falters, losing his balance. He leaves his chest exposed, and I run towards him, slicing at the glowing white wound where his heart should be. With every slash of my sword, the Dark Lord takes another step back. I swing one final time, using all that was left of my strength, and Ganondorf flies backwards. He lands on his back, breathing heavily. I leap up and push my sword down towards the ground below me. At the last second, Ganondorf rolls out of the way of my Ending Blow. I pull the Master Sword out of the floor as my enemy stands up. He is grinning slightly. Ganondorf begins laughing, but he holds his sword in front of his chest, blocking the wound. I take this opportunity to catch my breath. I put my hands on my knees, and pant hard, still keeping an eye on Ganondorf.

"I've had fun tonight, hero," he begins. "But I'm afraid playtime is over."

"Bring it on," I growl.

"You don't understand," Ganondorf continues. "I'm not simply going to fight harder. I'm ending this fight now. I'm sending you to a place where heroes like you aren't appreciated. Someplace where being the wielder of the Master Sword will mean nothing." I'm unsure what Ganondorf is talking about, but I ready my sword. He steps back and sheaths his sword. I tense, even more confused. He puts his hands up and yells some word in the Twili's language. Dark energy begins forming in his hands, and I glance behind me. One of the red portals is being formed. I run towards Ganondorf, my sword in hand.

"You will never win!" I scream, but I can feel the portal sucking me in. The wolf inside me is coming out from all the Twilight magic. I shove the beast back into its cage in the deepest, darkest part of my heart. I run harder, determined to not get pulled in. I have no idea where this portal will take me, but I'm certain I don't want to know. I'm hardly getting anywhere, but the Dark Lord just stands there, allowing me to come closer, inch by inch.

Sweat forms on my face as I struggle against the vortex, but I'm not giving up. At last, I stand before Ganondorf, my feet still trudging forward so as to not get pulled in. "Let go, hero," Ganondorf commands gently. "You're not escaping."

"Never!" I snarl and swing the Master Sword with all my remaining strength. Even so, it is a weak swing, and Ganondorf easily blocks it. He returns the blow with a strike of his own, but I am too tired to parry. The white sword connects with my side, easily ripping through the Hero's Clothes and my chainmail. I cry out in agony, pain exploding in my gut, and lose my balance. The portal sucks me in, and I am too weak to resist. I hear Zelda cry out as Ganondorf turns away from me to face her. Just as I enter the portal, everything goes black.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Disclaimer: I do not own the Legend of Zelda or The Hunger Games. I am earning no profit from this story other than the enjoyment of writing it and sharing it with others. I hope you all enjoy reading it! Feel free to let me know what you think by giving this chapter a review.**

I creep through the woods with my hunting partner, Gale, right beside me. We both listen for any sounds at all. So far, the forest has been silent today. Even the snares Gale set up were empty. A cold wind blows through the trees, and it has a foreboding feel to it. But Gale and I are not scared. We've faced wild dogs and a lot of other dangerous, wild animals. I feel ready for whatever the forest decides to throw our way. Yet, neither of us have spoken much today, to make it harder to track us in these silent woods. We continue walking through the trees, and I have an arrow at the ready. At this point, we'll settle for anything just to not return empty-handed. Still, I hear nothing. Not a single bird's song, or a wild dog's bark. We keep walking.

Suddenly, I hear trees rustle. I look up, my arrow ready, and notice that several of the trees in front of us are waving back and forth. Gale and I lock eyes, and silently rush forward.

I wasn't ready for what waited behind the wall of leaves. Lying on the floor in front of us is a young man, about Gale's age. He's wearing a tattered green shirt and two brown belts; one slung over his shoulder, one around his waist. His arms are strong, and he would make an excellent miner. He's lying on his back and is clearly unconscious. He has sandy, blonde hair and a snarl on his face. Atop his head is a strange hat, that looks somewhat like a sock. Part of his green shirt is stained red from blood. I instinctively reach down to touch the wound, and realize the blood is fresh. The wound underneath the man's shirt is still bleeding. I cringe and retract my hand, not wanting to touch the injury.

Gale breaks the silence. "What should we do?"

"I-I don't know," I reply, unsure. My gut tells me to take him back to District 12, but my brain disagrees. Saving the man would be the right, moral thing to do, but if the Capitol found out, Gale and I could be in huge trouble because this man is definitely not from District 12. And helping him could qualify as assisting someone run away from their district. Plus, we would eventually have to tell him where we found him; in the woods, hunting illegally.

"We should help him," Gale suggests. I nod slowly. I'd never forgive myself if I left this man here to die, especially when my mother and Prim could have saved him. Gale picks up the man's shoulders, and I pick up his feet. Together, we walk back through the woods, not bothering to be quiet. The forest has resumed its silent state, and we don't hear a single bird chirp the entire walk back.

I quickly test the electric fence, making sure it's not on. It's not, and I crawl through the small hole in the fence. Gale pushes the young man through the hole, and I help by pulling him. We get him through the hole, Gale climbs through, and we continue walking. We begin hurrying, because the man's breathing is getting more and more shallow. We take all the back alleys to reach my house, not wanting anyone to see us with the strange, young man.

Finally, we reach my house, and I walk inside, leaving Gale to set the man gently on our dining room table that serves as our operating table. "Prim!" I call urgently. My sister emerges from her room quickly, worry filling her eyes.

"What Katniss?" she asks. Her eyes flick towards the young man, then down to his bloodstained shirt. Her eyes widen. "I'll get mother." Prim hurries down the hallway toward our mother's room, and gently knocks on the door. My mother opens the door, and Prim grasps her hand, pulling her out towards the kitchen. As soon as my mother notices the man, she quickly walks toward him, and begins to take his shirt off.

"I'm going back to the forest with Gale," I say, not wanting to see the wound. My mother nods, but doesn't say anything, or bother to look at me. Gale opens the door for me, and we walk back towards the electric fence. It's still off, and we climb back through the hole into the woods. Somehow, the forest has returned to its usual lively self, and I easily shoot three or four birds. All of Gale's snares are full of rabbits and squirrels. We collect our game, and head over to the Hob to sell our meat.


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Disclaimer: I do not own the Legend of Zelda or The Hunger Games. I am earning no profit from this story other than the enjoyment of writing it and sharing it with others. I hope you all enjoy reading it! Feel free to let me know what you think by giving this chapter a review.**

My eyes snap open, and I sit up quickly, expecting danger. Instead I'm met with agony again from my side, and my right hand instinctively reaches down to touch the wound. "Don't touch it!" says a small voice from beside me. My hand freezes, and I look down towards the source of the voice. It belongs to a young girl. She looks about twelve and has light hair and matching blue eyes. I cock my head but pull my hand back to my side. Then I realize I don't have a shirt on, and the sword wound is exposed. I examine my injury. It is a long, horizontal slash that goes fairly deep, and hurts a whole lot. It has some sort of ointment on it but is still bleeding profusely.

"Lay back down," another voice says. I look to the other side and see a woman with light hair and blue eyes, presumably the girl's mother. I obey. The pair continues to put medicine on my gash. I want my red potion, but I don't ask for it. I'm certain that this place doesn't have those, since an injury this serious would definitely be given one. And the less attention I draw to myself, the better. That way I won't be missed when I find a way to return to Hyrule.

"We'll need to give you this medicine," the little girl begins. "It will make you sleep for a while, so we can clean out your gash."

I consider it. Back home, I would have never allowed some strange person to put me to sleep. I had too many enemies back in Hyrule. But something about the girl's sincere, caring eyes makes me want to trust her. I decide if I wake up with a knife through my heart, that's on me. "Okay," I agree. She hands me the vial, and I drain the whole thing in one gulp. As soon as the last drop touches my tongue, I'm already asleep.

…

Gale and I get head to all of the official's houses and drop off what they like. We collect our money, head to the Hob, and buy necessities like bread and water. We stop to split our profit outside of the Hob. "You'll have to tell me how that man is doing," Gale says.

"I will," I promise. "But I wonder what he was doing in the woods."

"You and me both," Gale agrees. "But I better get home. Mother will be waiting."

I nod, and he turns to head back to his house. I begin walking in the opposite direction, towards my house. I hesitate outside our front door, afraid to open it. I hate seeing wounds, and wonder if the man's is still bleeding. But I won't accomplish anything by hanging around out front, so I push open the door.

Inside, the young man is still sitting on our dining room table. He is still unconscious, which I assume is bad. Mother and Prim are scrambling around the kitchen, putting serum after serum on the exposed wound. It looks nothing like any wild animal attack I've ever seen. It's long, and by the look of it, fairly deep. It's also very wide, and appears to have been formed by one long, consecutive slash. The gash is no longer bleeding and is a bright red color.

"How is he?" I ask from the door, not wanting to get in the way.

"Better," Prim replies. "He woke up earlier, but we put him back to sleep so we could clean out his injury because that always hurts a lot."

I nod. "What's his name?"

"We didn't ask," Prim replies nonchalantly. She stops to pour something else on his cut. "But he should wake up soon." As if on cue, the young man stirs, and opens his eyes. His eyes are a beautiful blue that reminds me of the sky in the woods, not grayed by smog from the mines. He blinks a few times, and locks eyes with me. I freeze. The look in his eyes hides something that shouldn't be there. He stares at me with the same look a wild dog gives me before attacking. A completely wild and bestial look.

"Hi," I say nervously.

"Hello," he replies. His voice is kind. He seems confused at my nervousness.

"What's your name?" I ask.

"Link," Link replies simply. "Yours?"

"Katniss," I answer.

"Enough chit chat," my mother interrupts. "How do you feel?"

"Tired," Link says, "and lightheaded. But my cut feels better."

"Good," Mother says with a smile. She turns and heads back into her room, closing the door with a soft click. Link furrows his brow but says nothing. His eyes lock onto a small, cloth bag at the side of the room. Propped up next to it is a sword with a blue hilt, and a shield almost all blue with a red bird and three triangles on it.

"We didn't go through your stuff," Prim says quickly.

Link smiles. "I appreciate that. May I get up now?"

Prim hurries over to Link's side, and gently inspects the wound. The young man offers no resistance. "No, you have to rest," Prim decides. "But I can bring you your bag if you like."

"No thanks," Link replies. A period of awkward silence follows.

"I should make dinner," I announce. I pull out my bag of bread and slice it into three slices. I top the slices with a small amount of goat cheese. The meager slice of cheesy bread will serve as tonight's dinner. I fetch mother and sit her down on the floor in the living room, since Link is still taking up the table. I realize I've forgotten to offer anything to our patient.

"Would you like some?" I ask.

Link smiles. "I'm alright, thank you." I sigh in relief. I couldn't afford to feed him too, but I had to ask. I didn't want to be rude. Prim, Mother, and I finish eating and I tuck Prim into bed. Mother returns to her room with the door closed, and I walk back out to the living room.

Link has pushed himself up into a sitting position, but his hand is clutching his wound, his face full of agony. I gasp. "Lay down!" I command. I run towards him and push him back down onto the table. The man's heavy breathing slowly returns to normal. After realizing he's fine, I feel angry. "What were you doing?" I yell quietly, to make sure I don't disturb Prim.

"Getting my bag," Link replies sheepishly.

"Why?" I ask, still angry, but also curious.

"I wanted to make sure everything was still in it," Link answers. "I just didn't want to do it in front of your sister. I thought it would make her feel bad."

All the anger washes out of me. All he wanted to do was make sure Prim didn't feel bad. And I got mad at him. Guilt comes rushing in to replace the anger. "I'm sorry I yelled," I say. It's my turn to be sheepish.

"It's okay," Link replies. I get up and fetch his bag for him. He smiles and pulls it open. He sticks his hand inside, and his arm goes up slightly further than it looks like it should. He silently checks his supplies, but never pulls the items out of the bag. After Link appears satisfied, he closes the bag, but keeps it next to him.

I suddenly notice I had been watching him the whole time, and awkwardly bid him good night, and head to bed.


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Disclaimer: I do not own the Legend of Zelda or The Hunger Games. I am earning no profit from this story other than the enjoyment of writing it and sharing it with others. I hope you all enjoy reading it! Feel free to let me know what you think by giving this chapter a review.**

I sigh, watching Katniss retreat into her bedroom. I suddenly wish I had taken her offer of food, but I could tell that she didn't have much. I could simply go get some later. I have a lot of rupees. Those must be worth something. Nonetheless, she almost caught me grabbing my red potion. After I'm sure Katniss really has gone to bed this time, I slip my potion out of my inventory bag. I uncork the bottle and swallow the familiar red liquid. I sigh in relief as I feel the potion do its job. My skin weaves itself back together in seconds, and I run my hand over the new, smooth skin.

Even though I'm healed, I must stay here tonight. Act surprised tomorrow when my cut is miraculously healed. I turn over on the table and close my eyes. Most people would find the old, uneven, wooden surface to be an uncomfortable place to sleep, but I am used to sleeping in the wilderness. This table feels safe, a feeling I felt rarely in Hyrule. Ganondorf may have meant to send me to a nightmare, but I feel better than I ever felt in Hyrule. Here, no one knows me. No one knows I'm a hero...or should have been.

The realization hits me as hard as Ganondorf's blade. I've failed Hyrule. I, the supposed Hero of Hyrule, am now as good as dead, and Ganondorf has probably already taken over Hyrule. The princess is probably dead, along with Midna, and all of my hard work to save the citizens is for naught. I must return to Hyrule quickly, as quickly as I can, and yet I have no idea how to even begin. Sleep evades me all night long, as I lay there, tossing and turning, wishing I had died instead of being sent here. Then I could at least say I tried. But in this place, I am still alive, and yet cannot help my kingdom. Perhaps this is what Ganondorf meant. But I will find a way to return.

...

I decide that I must get Link a job when he heals. He can be a miner, and we'll never have to talk again. That way, everything will go back exactly the way it was. I get out of bed, pull on some clothes, and head out to the kitchen to make breakfast; more bread and cheese.

Link is lying on the table still, but he is already awake. His bright eyes are shadowed by dark bags underneath them. I suddenly wonder if he slept at all last night. "Hey," I say gently.

"Hey," he replies. He doesn't sound tired.

"Have trouble sleeping?" I ask.

"Yeah," he shrugs. My eyes reluctantly wander down to his wound. I gasp, noticing it's completely gone. Not even a scar is left to hint at the injury's existence.

"How?" I exclaim. Link looks down to his side, and his eyes widen when he notices the gash's absence.

"I-I don't know," he stammers, but won't look me in the eye.

I narrow my eyes. "What did you do?"

"Nothing!" he says innocently. "I just laid here all night, I promise."

"Then why is your injury gone?" I question pointedly. "That never happens."

"You think I know what they put on me?" Link retorts, exasperated.

I open my mouth but can't think of anything to say. Of course, he has no idea. I should ask Prim about this first. But she's still sleeping, and I'll let her sleep. It is a Saturday, so we have no school. I shake my head. We sit in silence for a moment.

"Where are you from?" Link asks, perhaps trying to begin a conversation.

"District 12," I reply, unsure of what to think of the question. Shouldn't he know that? Link nods slowly. "Where are you from?" I ask.

"I'm not supposed to say," he answers vaguely. He definitely ran away from some other District.

"I see," I say. "Well, would you like a job here? I'm pretty sure I could get you one."

Link brightens. "You could?"

"Sure," I say, "You look strong. I'm sure the other miners wouldn't mind having another strong worker around, even if you aren't from around here."

Link smiles. "Thank you." He suddenly cocks his head. "Your sister is coming." I turn around, and sure enough, Prim is walking down the hall toward the kitchen. Her footsteps fall silently, so I'm not sure how Link heard her.

"Good morning," Link says cheerily to her.

"Good morning, Mr. Link," Prim replies with a curtsey.

Link laughs. "Why all the formality? I'm just some nobody."

"I always try and be polite," Prim answers timidly.

"That's nice," Link says. "I never caught your name."

"Primrose. But most people call me Prim," Prim says.

Link nods. "Cool."

"May I see your wound, Link?" Prim asks.

"Yeah, but...well...it's sort of...gone," Link replies awkwardly.

Prim's eyes widen, and she steps forward to inspect Link's side. She gasps when she sees the flawless skin where the huge gash had been.

"I-is that not supposed to happen?" Link asks, nervously.

"I mean, it's great," Prim says quickly, "but it shouldn't be possible."

"Well, since Link's better, I was going to get him a job as a miner," I say, simply to end Prim's confusion.

Prim shakes her head in disbelief. "Okay," she agrees. "But if it starts to hurt at all, you come right back here, promise?"

"Yes, ma'am," Link promises. I quickly make breakfast, while Link pulls on his shirt and chainmail armor. Seems a bit outdated, but I don't argue. He slings his sword over his shoulder, as well as his shield, and clips his cloth bag to one of his many belt buckles.

"Want any?" I ask Link again.

"No thanks," he says again. But his stomach growls loudly, so I cut him a slice of bread anyway. He gratefully gobbles it up. After that, I bid farewell to Prim, and tell her to tell Mother where I went. I take Link down to the mines, where workers are still working, despite it being Saturday. I quickly introduce Link to the man in charge, Bork.

"Who have we here?" Bork asks as we approach.

"Katniss Everdeen, and Link…" I begin, only to realize I don't know Link's last name.

"Ordonia. Link Ordonia," Link finishes.

"I see," Bork replies. "Is this young man looking for a job here?"

"I am," Link says.

"You're not from around here, are you?" Bork asks.

"Afraid not," Link agrees.

Bork laughs. "No worries! You work hard and do what you're told, I won't mention a thing."

Link nods gratefully. "I will, I promise."

"You know how to mine coal?" Bork asks.

"No," Link answers.

"Well, let's spare the little lady our lesson, shall we?" Bork continues. I take this as my cue to leave and begin to head back home. I'll make sure Prim and Mother are fine, then head into the woods to meet Gale.


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Disclaimer: I do not own the Legend of Zelda or The Hunger Games. I am earning no profit from this story other than the enjoyment of writing it and sharing it with others. I hope you all enjoy reading it! Feel free to let me know what you think by giving this chapter a review.**

Bork quickly shows me how to use a pickaxe properly, then sends me down into the mines. If I have any questions, Bork tells me the other workers can answer them. And just like that, I have my first, real job. Sure I 'worked' on the ranch in Ordon village, but that was mostly just helping the town out. I didn't get paid, and it wasn't ever really hard work. Usually just herd the goats or feed the cows or something like that. But now, here in District 12, I have a job as a coal miner. I quickly discover coal is a blacker than night mineral that gets all over everything. The other men down in the mine are extremely talkative and ask questions about everything.

"Where are you from?" one of them asks, after asking a bunch of petty questions about my likes and dislikes and such.

"I'm not supposed to say," I reply, since that seems to mean something here.

The other men raise their eyebrows, and smile. "Your secret's safe with us," one of them says.

"Thanks," I say. After that, talk turns to other things that are pretty pointless, but I make sure to listen. The questions they ask might be petty, but every answer provides a new detail about whatever world I've been thrown into.

By the end of the day, my arms are extremely sore. I'm used to swinging a sword, but a pickaxe is swung differently. You also swing a pickaxe over and over and over without end. It is really exhausting work. Nonetheless, I don't complain when Bork orders us all back at the mines bright and early the next day.

I work at the mines for a long time, still trying to figure out how to get back to Hyrule. So far, I have no leads, and I can't exactly ask for help. Also, I quickly realized I had no place to stay. My job doesn't pay near enough to feed me, my rupees are worth nothing, and so I definitely couldn't buy a house for sale. Not that I'd want to live in one of those houses anyways. I'll bet they've been for sale for decades, and no one has bothered to clean them since the day they were built. So instead, I found a nice sized hole in the fence, and every night I squeeze through it, and sleep as the wolf. Letting the wolf out feels good anyway. If I keep it in for too long, it gets feisty, and wants to come out. I've heard there are wild dogs and such in the woods, but I'm not afraid. I've taken out a pack of wild, skeletal dogs, so normal dogs should be no problem.

Working isn't helping me get home either. It is endless, backbreaking work from morning till night, every day. I'm so tired by the time I'm off duty, I hardly have any energy left to think about my kingdom. But working in the mines provides one good thing; information. I learn much about my new home, and I was very wrong about this place being safer than Hyrule. The kingdom, or country as they call it, is known as Panem, and it is divided into thirteen provinces. Twelve have very unoriginal names; Districts 1, 2, 3, and so on through 12. The last is called the Capitol, and it's where the government is located. It's like Castle Town, only much larger, much crazier, and much more advanced. Everything here is. But what makes the Capitol different from the Districts, is something called the Hunger Games.

The most important event in Panem's history is when the Districts rose up against the Capitol, because they were upset that they were so oppressed, and it wasn't. The Capitol easily subdued all twelve Districts, and completely annihilated everyone and everything in District 13. As a reminder that they are stronger, the Capitol set up an event known as the Hunger Games. It is a fight to the death that goes on as long as it needs to between 24 people. The people, called tributes, are picked at random, two from every district, a girl and a boy. The Capitol doesn't have tributes in the Games. The event is the largest all year and is celebrated in the Capitol. It's barbaric, really.

A few months after I've been sent to District 12, the day of the reaping is here. Most people dress up for the event, since it is strictly a holiday, but I still wear my signature green shirt and chainmail, with the Master Sword and Hylian Shield slung over my shoulder. At this point, the shirt is entirely covered in coal dust, and you can barely tell its green. This year I have six slips in the reaping ball, since I am seventeen. Everyone heads to the town's square, with eligible tributes standing in a separate, roped off area. I stand next to a man I've seen with Katniss quite a lot. I believe his name is Gale. All nervous murmurings stop when the mayor of the town steps up and delivers a speech. He tells of the history of Panem. Most of the information I had already learned in the mines, but I still listen intently. The mayor completes his speech and lists the two victors District 12 has had in 73 years of the Games. Only one is still alive, a drunk man named Haymitch Abernathy. He staggers onto the stage, drunk as always, and proceeds to make himself look like an idiot. Since everyone in Panem can see this event through some magical invention known as cameras, the mayor quickly moves things along. He introduces our escort, Effie Trinket. She looks ridiculous, but I can tell she's probably the most hated person in the District right now. She also seems oblivious and doesn't seem to notice this. She happily strides up to the podium.

"Happy Hunger Games!" she calls. "And may the odds be ever in your favor." The lady goes on and on about how honored she is to be here. Honestly, I don't understand how she could be pleased to be here in District 12, the smallest, weakest, most pathetic District in Panem. Perhaps she's lying. Or perhaps she's a moron. After her long, drawn out speech, it's finally time to pick tributes. "Ladies first!" she chirps as she makes her way over to the girl's reaping ball. Effie reaches in and pulls out a slip. "Primrose Everdeen!" she calls out.

My mind goes into overdrive. What? Prim? But she only had one! I wish I could do something to keep this innocent, kind, twelve-year-old girl out of the arena. But I'm powerless. I'm still a failed hero.

Suddenly, above the mutterings of the crowd, I make out a desperate voice. "Prim!" I recognize Katniss's voice. "Prim!" She runs up onto the stage, intercepting her sister. "I volunteer!" she screams. "I volunteer as tribute!"

"Lovely!" Effie Trinket exclaims. "But I believe there's a small matter of introducing the reaping winner and then asking for volunteers, and if one does come forth then we, um…"

"What does it matter?" the mayor interrupts. He is looking at Katniss sadly. Perhaps they know each other? "What does it matter?" he repeats. "Let her come forward."

Prim begins screaming. "No, Katniss! No! You can't go!" She grabs her sister and refuses to leave the stage.

"Prim, let go," Katniss growls. "Let go!" Gale moves through the crowd and up onto the steps. He grabs Prim, and whispers something to Katniss. Something only I, with my enhanced hearing, could hear.

"Up you go, Catnip," he whispers. Perhaps I heard it wrong? Then he retreats down the steps with a screaming and kicking Prim.

"Well, bravo!" Effie cheers. "That's the spirit of the Games! What's your name?"

"Katniss Everdeen," Katniss replies stonily.

"I bet my buttons that was your sister. Don't want her to steal all the glory, do we? Come on, everybody! Let's give a big round of applause to our newest tribute!" Effie continues.

No one claps. Not one person. The citizens of District 12 clearly do not agree. I am with them. This is not right. I have a new mission. Save Panem, no District 12, then return home. I will be a hero here, even if I die trying.

Then all around me, I notice the crowd beginning to lift the three middle fingers of their left hand to their mouth. I'm unsure what it means, but I participate as well. I assume it means something I feel right now. Perhaps anger or sadness? Maybe even goodbye?

Haymitch staggers onto the stage again, making several comments about Katniss before falling off the stage again. He's pulled away on a stretcher, and Effie keeps the show moving. "What an exciting day!" she trills. "But more excitement to come! It's time to choose our boy tribute!" She heads to the boys' ball, pulls out a slip, and returns to the podium. "Peeta Mellark!" I notice Katniss has the smallest glint of worry in her eye as a man who looks remarkably like me climbs onto the stage. He has my hair, my eyes, and is about as tall as I am. He's lacking the Master Sword, however. He looks really upset but is trying to remain stoic.

"Any volunteers?" Effie asks. I consider the question. If I want to be a hero, I'll get no greater opportunity.

"I volunteer!" I yell, and the crowd allows me to make my way up to the podium. Peeta looks incredibly relieved, and quickly leaves the podium.

"Thank you," he whispers as we pass each other. I nod.

"Wow! Two volunteers in one day!" Effie cheers. "And what is your name, young man?" I notice her eyeing my sword and shield.

"Link Ordonia," I reply. I stare out at the crowd. I have become acquainted with many of the miners. They all look sorry for me. I do not receive the hand gesture Katniss did. That's fine with me.

"Oh!" Effie exclaims suddenly. "I forgot to introduce the newest rule! Since both of District 12's tributes were eliminated first last year, making you the loser, you have to send in one extra tribute!" She sounds excited. Everyone else looks enraged. "According to our population toll from last year, District 12 has more boys than girls, so we'll take another boy." She returns to the glass ball, the entire audience watching with mixed expressions. I see rage, shock, sadness, fear, and anything else negative. Effie Trinket pulls out another slip.

"Peeta Mellark!" she calls out again. My eyes widen. I feel really furious now. I did my best to be a hero, and yet it still failed. This poor man still has to fight, still has to be a pawn in the Capitol's Games. I do too, but I volunteered. Peeta doesn't want to be here, on the stage right now. He no longer tries to remain emotionless. His eyes are filled with sorrow and fury. His hands are clenched in fists. His back is completely straight, and his steps are short and stiff. He comes to stand next to me.

"I'm sorry I tried," I whisper.

"I know," he whispers sadly.

"Everyone cheer for our three tributes for this year!" Effie finishes. Once again, no one claps. But this time, it's not from dissent. No one can believe poor Peeta's luck. The odds were most certainly not in his favor.

The mayor begins to read the legendary Treaty of Treason, but I'm too mad to listen. The wolf is angry too and wants to come out. I push it back down, forcing my hand to not grab the Twilight crystal. But I still agree with the wolf. This isn't right. None of this is. And I'm determined to end it. I stare out at the crowd, not allowing anyone to see how I feel. I will remain stoic. The cameras won't see my fury, won't see my pain. The mayor finishes his speech, and the tributes are instructed to shake hands. It seems cruel, to shake hands, right before we're thrown right into a fight to the death, where we will become bitter enemies. But I obey anyhow.

After that, we are taken to the ironically named, Justice Building. It is filled with some of the nicest furniture I've ever seen. Not even Hyrule Castle itself could top the quality of the couches and chairs we are allowed to sit on. We will be given an hour to have our friends and family come and bid us farewell. I don't expect any visitors. I sigh, preparing for an hour of just sitting, doing nothing. Maybe I could practice with the Master Sword.

I sit for a while, alone. I go through my training regimen with the Blade of Evil's Bane, but it only takes about ten minutes. I begin it again, and my door opens. My eyes widen when I see Prim and her mother enter my room. I awkwardly sheath my sword, and gesture for them to sit down. Prim looks like she has been crying, and I bet they just said goodbye to Katniss. Prim sits down, but her mother stands in the doorway. I wait for one of them to say something, unsure how to begin a conversation.

"I'm really sorry you have to go," Prim says finally.

I smile. "It's alright. I did volunteer. I'm terribly sorry your sister has to go."

"She volunteered too," Prim argues, and begins balling. The sweet child lays her head in my lap. I stroke her hair gently, fairly certain that's a kind thing to do.

"It'll be alright," I promise. "I won't kill her. I swear it."

"But what if she kills you?" Prim asks. I had no idea she cared so much.

"Then your sister will be one step closer to winning," I reply evenly.

Prim stays in my lap, crying. I continually tell her that it will be okay, saying anything I can think of to reassure this poor, poor girl.

Soon, our allotted time is up, and one of the Peacekeepers pries Prim from my lap. I offer him no assistance. I'm sure I won't have any other visitors. I was wrong again.

A huge man with burn scars silently enters the room. I'm unsure who it is. "Hello," I say.

He sighs. "Hello. I'm Peeta's father. I just wanted to thank you for trying to save my son."

I look down at the floor. "I'm sorry I failed."

The man shakes his head. "But you tried, and that's all I care about."

His words hit me hard. He's happy that I just tried. I wonder if that's how the citizens of Hyrule feel. Happy that I tried. I doubt it. I still failed them, just the same as I failed Midna, and now Peeta. My list of people I can't save just keeps getting longer and longer. I take a deep breath, to keep from crying, and sit quietly. Peeta's father evidently has nothing else to say, so we sit in silence until another Peacekeeper summons him. I'm left with another half an hour to practice my swordplay.

Finally, I am let outside the Justice Building. Peeta and Katniss are already seated inside some sort of wheeled carriage without horses. I sit with them and let out a little yelp when it begins to move on its own. Katniss shoots me a bemused look, and my face turns red.

Our strange transport stops at another, larger raised platform. There are more cameras here, and I make sure to cover my emotions. Peeta doesn't bother, and you can tell he's been crying. Katniss also remains stoic, staring straight through every cameraman. We are quickly ushered onto another strange transport, that begins moving as soon as the doors close.

"What is this thing?" I ask Effie, who came with us.

"A train," she replies, frowning. "Don't you know what a train is?"

"No," I answer honestly. The conversation ends there as I'm given a room on this luxurious 'train.' It has a lever that instantly brings water out a pipe, drawer after drawer of clean clothes, and a huge bed. My escort tells me I can do anything I like, and I won't be disturbed so long as I'm on time for dinner in an hour. As soon as the man leaves, I jump on my bed and close my eyes. Sleep catches me before I even land on the fluffy mattress.


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's Disclaimer: I do not own the Legend of Zelda or The Hunger Games. I am earning no profit from this story other than the enjoyment of writing it and sharing it with others. I hope you all enjoy reading it! Feel free to let me know what you think by giving this chapter a review.**

I'm given a room on the train with running water, a luxury I've only ever dreamed of. I take a shower and put on a pair of fresh clothes. I suddenly remember the gift Madge, the mayor's daughter, gave me. It's a golden pin of a bird, a mockingjay, that would have easily fed my family for a month. But now, I've promised to wear it into the arena, so I clip it onto my new shirt. Effie Trinket comes to fetch me for supper, and I follow her through room after room on the train. At last, we arrive in a large room with a table in the middle. Peeta is already sitting down, waiting for us.

"Where's Link and Haymitch?" I ask.

"I think Haymitch went to take a nap," Peeta replies. "But, I'm not sure where Link is."

"Well, Link must be here," Effie says. "It's required. You," she points to one of the male servants, "go fetch Link." The man nods and heads out of our room.

Several minutes later, he returns with an exhausted looking Link. He is still wearing his green shirt, but it's completely covered in coal dust. He yawns loudly as he sits down. Effie looks perturbed. The servants begin bringing food to our table. It looks like the most wonderful meal I've ever seen, and more just keeps coming. Peeta and I use the utensils given to us, but Link acts like he's never seen a fork before. He studies me as I stab my food with it and tries to replicate the action. All he accomplishes is completely destroying the little bite of food he was trying to pick up. Link gives up, sets down the fork, and begins to eat the meal with his hands. For the first time, I notice Link's teeth. They are much sharper than anyone else's I've ever seen. They are spread farther apart and look sort of like the set of teeth that usually belongs to a wild dog. He easily tears through any meat put in front of him, easily ripping apart even the toughest parts of steak.

Effie looks disgusted, and decides to make a point of it by saying directly to me and Peeta, "At least you two have decent manners. The pair last year ate everything with their hands like a couple of savages."

Link snickers. "Funny. The word 'savages' coming from the one happy to send us off to fight to the death." I couldn't have said it better myself. Effie decides to ignore Link's comment. I side with him though and eat the rest of the meal with my hands along with him.

After the meal, we are led into another compartment on the train to watch the reaping in the other Districts. Link pays close attention, and I notice his left hand constantly twitching throughout the entire program. Only a few stick in my mind; the male from 2, girl from 5, boy from 10, and female from 11. Effie sighs as the segment from District 12 plays, and Link raises an eyebrow.

"Not entertaining enough for you?" he asks.

"Your mentor is a mess," Effie replies.

Link shrugs. "I've already got all the gear I need. Plus, I'm not going to win anyway."

"You can't keep your gear," Peeta says.

Link cocks his head. "Really? What does it matter?" He smirks. "I'd like to see them try to take it away from me." He abruptly gets up and leaves.

Haymitch chooses this moment to stagger into our compartment. He slips and falls, and Peeta and I look each other in the eye. Link might want to be defiant, but Peeta's right; you can't keep your gear. We'll need to get on Haymitch's good side because he's our mentor. We drag him to his room, and Peeta says he'll shower him. I nod numbly and wander back down towards my compartment.

I suddenly hear loud, growling coming from the compartment next to mine. I freeze, realizing what's inside that room. It's Link's room. Without thinking, I fling open the door. His compartment is completely destroyed. There isn't a single drawer not ripped open, not a pair of clothes not torn apart. And laying in the middle of the room, frozen, is a wolf. It is mostly gray and black, but it's face is covered in strange white markings. It's staring at me with vibrant blue eyes that look a lot like Link's. It's growling, daring me to come closer. I take a step forward, wondering where Link could have gone. It growls louder. I take another step. The volume increases.

Suddenly, I freeze. My eyes lock onto the strange wolf's ears. They are adorned with blue earrings that look identical to Link's. What? How? Does he know this animal? The beast notices where I'm looking, yelps, and zips into the bathroom, slamming the door with its tail. I run after it. I throw open the door.

"Ow!" Link yells from behind it. "What was that for?"

"Where's the wolf?" I demand, turning on him. He's standing in front of his sink. His eyes are puffy and red. He quickly wipes his tears away when I meet his eyes.

Link cocks his head. "What wolf?"

"Don't play dumb!" I yell. "I saw it! It had your earrings."

Link sighs, and straightens up, brushing off his shirt. Coal dust gets everywhere. "Listen. It's been a long day. I know you're upset. There was no wolf, I promise. I didn't see one."

I open my mouth, then close it. He's right of course. Again. "I'm really sorry," I say. "I suppose I'm just tired."

Link smiles gently. "Don't worry. I'm sure you can tell I've had a rough day. Just go to bed now."

"Okay," I sigh. I trudge off to bed, keeping my eyes off the mess Link has made. He must have been really upset today. I guess it's justifiable; we were just chosen to fight to the death in the Games. But there's something about him I can't place. The wolf and the earrings, his wound, and his comment earlier. What does he mean he has all the gear he needs? Why wouldn't the Peacekeepers be able to take it from him? And why is he so sure he won't win? It doesn't line up. I shake my head as I head into my own room. I throw my outfit onto the floor and pull on a pair of pajamas. I climb into bed, allowing the puffy mattress to swallow me. Sleep easily finds me tonight.


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's Disclaimer: I do not own the Legend of Zelda or The Hunger Games. I am earning no profit from this story other than the enjoyment of writing it and sharing it with others. I hope you all enjoy reading it! Feel free to let me know what you think by giving this chapter a review.**

After I'm sure Katniss is gone, I begin to clean up my room. For once, the wolf and I agreed on something; tonight, we could be angry. I allowed the wolf to come out, allowed my hand to slip down onto the Twilight crystal. I didn't bother trying to control the wolf tonight. I let it destroy my room, and almost enjoyed it. But when Katniss opened the door, I recovered control. She almost caught me. Next time, I'll be more careful. Lock the door or something.

I'm about halfway through cleaning up, when a servant comes in. His jaw drops open when he sees the mess I've made. "Sorry," I apologize. "I had a bad day." The man nods. He pushes me toward the bed, but I shove him off me. "I'm going to help you." He shakes his head. I wonder if he can speak at all. "I made this mess, I'll clean it up." I say. The man sighs and begins picking clothes up off the floor. I help him, and when we're done, I head to bed. I don't bother changing once again.

I wake up the next morning to a man knocking on my door. I wonder if he's afraid to come in. I open the door, and he begins leading me down the hall. It's a different servant than the one from last night. I wonder if they're all here because they're mute. I enter the dining compartment from last night and find I'm the last one again. "Like your beauty sleep, don't you?" Haymitch asks. He's drunk again. I roll my eyes.

"Yes, I do," I reply evenly. "I find it helps keep my mind off idiots like you."

Peeta raises an eyebrow and Katniss puts a hand over her mouth. I can see the edges of her lips curve upwards over her hand. I sit in my seat, and I'm immediately served huge amounts of food. The wolf growls in appreciation, but I force myself to slow it down. I almost saw my dinner again last night after eating too much. I continue eating slowly, long after everyone else has finished stuffing themselves. Katniss leans back in her chair, Peeta continues eating tiny pieces of his roll while dipping them in some brown drink. Haymitch has hardly eaten anything and continues to slosh his drink back and forth. It probably has alcohol in it.

"So, you're supposed to give us advice?" Katniss says to Haymitch.

"Here's some advice. Stay alive!" Haymitch exclaims, then cracks up. I raise an eyebrow, and Peeta and Katniss exchange a look.

"That's very funny," Peeta says. He swipes the glass Haymitch is holding and throws it across the room. "Only not to us." Haymitch freezes, then swings his fist at Peeta, who falls out of his chair. Haymitch reaches for another drink, but Katniss and I take action. She slams her knife into the table, not even an inch away from his fingers. I unsheath the Master Sword and point the blade at his throat. My shield is ready to deflect any punches thrown at me or Katniss, but Haymitch leans back in his chair and looks at us.

"Well, what's this?" Haymitch says to himself. "Did I actually get a pair of fighters this year?"

I snicker. "I carry a sword everywhere I go, and you thought I couldn't use it?"

Haymitch laughs heartily, but he sounds less drunk. "You'd be surprised the things I've seen." I snort in disbelief. "Stand over here." Haymitch commands. I obey, but only because he will be my mentor for the Games. He pokes and prods all of us, examining every little detail of our bodies.

"Get a new shirt on," he orders me.

"No," I reply. These clothes mean a lot to me.

Haymitch sighs. "At least have it washed." I nod curtly and command a servant to follow me to my room. Once there, I quickly change into something else so he can wash my Hero's Clothes. I sit in my room until he's done. I will not wear anything else. By the time I've changed back into my clothes, and they are actually green again, we've pulled into the Capitol's train station. The city is the largest I've ever seen. Every building is larger than Hyrule Castle, not just the big, important looking ones. We are quickly ushered out of the train, through a huge crowd, and into a large building. I look no one in the crowd in the eye, staring straight ahead. I already hate every single person in this crowd. They are a part of the horrible Capitol. They are excited to watch us die. After being put into a small box called an elevator that teleports you to another floor of the building, I'm given a room with Peeta. Katniss gets her own room. We just stand there for a minute waiting.

"What are we waiting for?" I ask.

"Our stylist," Peeta replies. As if that explains it.

"And..." I say, prompting him to continue.

"They will dictate what we wear tonight at the opening ceremony," Peeta explains.

"What is this, a beauty contest?" I ask, exasperated.

"It's how we get sponsors," Peeta answers evenly. Sometimes I hate his even temperament. It's so infuriating.

Suddenly, the door opens, and three people walk into the room, effectively ending our conversation. Two men and a woman walk right up to us. They order us to take off our shirts. Peeta obeys. I do so reluctantly. They scrub down our arms with some crazy soap, all the while talking about really petty Capitol stuff. How excited they are to watch our Games. How interesting the new rule is. The newest fashion trends.

Eventually they ask us to remove our pants. That's outrageous. "No," I say. I won't do that.

"But you must," one of them says simply.

"I won't," I say. Peeta hasn't either.

They sigh. "Fine then. Let's go get Portia."

"Portia is our stylist," Peeta whispers as they exit.

"Can you believe that?" I exclaim as soon as the door clicks shut. "They want us to remove our pants! Never!"

Peeta just laughs. "That was going to happen, Link."

"Not on my watch," I growl. Peeta's even temper though. Does he ever get mad? He should. Especially about something like that.

Our stylist, Portia, enters the room. She seems a bit weary, and eyes me carefully. "I hear we had a bit of trouble," she says simply. I bite my tongue. "No matter. Come, have lunch with me." She walks back out the door and Peeta follows her. I trail along behind him, albeit very reluctantly. Portia gestures to a table in the main room outside our private room. One of the walls is entirely made of glass, so you can see out over the Capitol. It is too bright, too shiny in my opinion. Give me Faron woods any day over this artificial city. Portia sits down, and Peeta and I join her. She presses a button, and our lunch rises up out of the table.

"So," Portia begins carefully. "How do you feel about fire?"

I shrug. "No big deal."

Peeta looks at me curiously, then says. "I'm used to it."

Portia smiles.

Several hours later, and after much complaining on my part, I'm standing at the bottom of our building wearing a black set of clothes. It is exactly the same as my Hero's Clothes down to the chain mail's imperfections. I refused to wear anything else. Portia plans to light our clothes on fire just as we exit this building. Sounds fun to me. Peeta and Katniss don't seem so thrilled though. We're all seated in a carriage with actual horses this time. The horses are about Epona's size, which is saying something because Epona is huge. They are entirely black, just like my silly clothes. The Master Sword and Hylian Shield are still strapped to my back, because I will not part with them.

Suddenly, the door opens, revealing the road our carriage will take, and what must be the entire population of the Capitol. All too soon, all the other Districts' carriages have departed, and it's our turn. Katniss's stylist, Cinna, climbs aboard our carriage with a torch. He lights our clothes up, and both Katniss and Peeta sigh in relief when they don't instantly burn. Cinna dismounts, and yells to us, "Hold each other's shoulders!"

"What did he say?" Katniss calls over the music.

I look towards her to repeat the message and realize just how stunning she looks. The flames are absolutely beautiful. "He wants us to hold each other's shoulders!" I reply. Katniss, Peeta, and I wrap our arms around each other's shoulders. Cinna gives us a thumbs up, and then we are on our way. The music, the cheering, the screaming, it's all too much for my delicate ears. Each beat of the song sends a pulse of pain from my eardrums to my brain. I ignore it, and smile at the audience anyways. All three of us wave and Katniss blows kisses to the crowd. I can hear the chanting of our names. Some for me, some for Peeta, but mostly Katniss. She deserves it. She is indeed the girl on fire.

Our chariot pulls to a stop, and a small man with snow white hair gives a long, official speech. He finishes, and the national anthem of Panem begins to play, and our chariots are pulled into the Training Center. As soon as the doors close, the smile on my face withers and dies, and I clutch my head. The pain is unbearable. Portia, Cinna, and the prep teams are there, helping us off our chariot. Only Portia and Cinna notice my pain. Peeta and Katniss have wandered off someplace else.

"What's wrong?" Portia asks.

"Too loud," I mutter.

"Too loud?" Cinna repeats. "You must have excellent hearing."

I shrug but keep my head in my hands. "I guess so."

"Will you get better?" Portia asks nervously.

"Yeah," I reply. "I think I'll take a nap."

"Excellent," Cinna says with a nod. "I'll send someone to fetch you for dinner."

"Thanks," I murmur, but I'm already on my way up to my room. I pass the other tributes, who all snicker at me as I pass them, holding my head in my hands. The wolf growls inside me. It wants to show them up. I push it down. There will be plenty of time for that during the actual Hunger Games. I stumble into the magical elevator, push '12,' and silently wait a few seconds. The door opens, and I stagger into my room. I throw myself onto my bed, and sigh contentedly as the feeling of sleep washes away my intense headache.


	8. Chapter 8

**Author's Disclaimer: I do not own the Legend of Zelda or The Hunger Games. I am earning no profit from this story other than the enjoyment of writing it and sharing it with others. I hope you all enjoy reading it! Feel free to let me know what you think by giving this chapter a review.**

I wake up to knocking on my door. Another servant is standing right outside. "I'll be right there," I promise. I throw on my Hero's Clothes, happy to be rid of that ridiculous other outfit. I open the door, only to find the servant still there. He must have realized I don't know where I'm going. I silently follow him to the dining hall, where everyone else is already eating. I sit myself down, muttering a thank you the servant as I pass by him. I'm annoyed that Effie is here tonight. I mean, seriously, when will she leave? Also present are Portia, Cinna, Haymitch, Peeta, and Katniss. I sit down and begin to quietly eat my food.

As usual, Effie looks disgusted at my particular method of eating. I can't figure out how to use the strange, tiny food spears, so I just eat with my hands. Effie clearly doesn't like this. I decide to find out why. "What?" I ask, gently wiping my dirty fingers on my napkin.

"You should use utensils," Effie says simply.

I cock my head. "Utensils?"

"Where were you raised?" she exclaims. "These are utensils!" she dramatically holds up the mini sword, and mini spear with many points.

"I was raised somewhere I didn't have the many privileges of the Capitol!" I snarl. The wolf is enraged. I grab my left hand with my right, just to keep it away from the crystal. I push away my food. "I'm not hungry anymore," I grumble, and stand up to leave.

My hand touches the elevator button, and I hear my name. "Link!" Peeta calls.

I turn around to face him. My right hand still clutches my left. "What?" I growl.

"I understand," he says. "Just come sit down, okay?"

"Fine," I mutter. I return to my seat and sit down stiffly.

"Would you like to learn how to use a fork?" Portia asks.

"No," I answer. "I can eat just fine, thank you." The rest of the meal is consumed in awkward silence.

Afterwards, we head into another compartment and watch the opening ceremonies on the magical 'television.' No one comes even close to our performance. We all look dazzling in our flaming glory. But I have to wonder, what's the point? Why do all the dressup and stuff? Why not just go straight into the Games? Maybe the people of the Capitol enjoy getting to know the victims of their cruel punishment. It makes me angry just thinking about it.

The program ends, and Haymitch says, "Tomorrow morning is the first training session. Meet me for breakfast and I'll tell you exactly how to play it." He's addressing me, Katniss, and Peeta. "Now go get some sleep while the grown-ups talk." I snicker at his comment, but head to my room without complaint.

Once inside, I lock the door. The wolf is still furious. There will be no resisting it tonight. I finally allow my left hand to reach down into my inventory bag and clutch the precious crystal. I can feel all my bones shifting, my snout elongating, a tail growing, and fur sprouting from every inch of my skin. It only takes a second, and then it's over. The wolf now stands in front of my mirror. It wants to rip everything up again, but I won't let it. Not tonight. I'm too tired to clean up, and even if the servants will do it for me, I won't let them. Instead, I allow the wolf to shred my bed to pieces. It was too fluffy and fancy for me anyway. I don't deserve it.

After the wolf has reduced my bed to a large pile of ripped up cloth, I curl up on the cold, hardwood floor, and go to sleep. The wolf's soft fur feels better than any bed ever could.

I'm forced awake the next morning by the sound of Katniss screaming. I stand up, and race to the door, forgetting the wolf is still out. Once I reach the door and notice the doorknob is taller than I am, I remember, and call upon the Master Sword. With the wolf back inside, I open the door, and run towards Katniss's room. I throw open the door.

"What's wrong?" I ask.

She's sitting on her bed. Blood is streaming from her mouth. And yet she doesn't look afraid. Just tired. Maybe a little annoyed. "Nothing's wrong," she huffs.

"I heard you scream," I argue.

"I just had nightmares, okay?" Katniss grumbles.

"And the blood?" I ask, gesturing to her bloody chin.

"I bit my cheek," Katniss replies. "I'm fine."

"Okay," I say awkwardly. "I just wanted to make sure." I turn to leave, shutting the door behind me. I return to my room, pausing outside my door to observe the outfit I've been given for the day. The servant was probably supposed to put it inside my room, but with the door locked, he couldn't. I carry the clothes inside my room and put them on my destroyed bed. I don't change into them. I run my hands through my hair and wash my face. I don't feel like bothering with any of Panem's fancy inventions.

After I deem myself presentable, I head to the dining hall. Big surprise, everyone else is already there. "You going to make being late your thing?" Haymitch asks.

I shrug. "I don't know. I've been thinking about it." Haymitch howls with laughter. I fill my plate with eggs and other strange foods and return to my seat. I smile slightly when I realize the servant hasn't even bothered giving me utensils this morning.

We eat silently for a while, until Haymitch pushes his bowl away from himself. "So, let's get down to business," he begins. "Training. First off, if you like, I'll coach you separately. Decide now."

"Why would you coach us separately?" Katniss asks.

"Say if you had a secret skill you might not want the others to know about," Haymitch explains.

"I don't have any secret skills," Peeta says. "And I know Katniss's, right? I mean, I've eaten enough of your squirrels."

"You can coach us together," Katniss says.

"And, Link?" Haymitch asks.

"I want to be part of the party," I say. Everyone laughs.

"Alright. So, give me some idea of what you can do," Haymitch orders.

"I can't do anything," Peeta says. Somehow, I doubt that. "Unless you count baking bread."

"Sorry I don't," Haymitch says unapologetically. "How about you, Katniss and Link?"

"I can hunt," Katniss says, "with a bow and arrow."

"And you're good?" Haymitch asks.

Katniss considers the question. "I'm alright."

"She's excellent," Peeta retorts, "My father buys her squirrels. He always comments on how the arrows never pierce the body. She hits every one in the eye."

"Impressive," I agree with Peeta.

Haymitch nods. "Link, what can you do?"

I think about this for a minute. "I can use a sword pretty well. I know how to use a bow, but it sounds like Katniss is way better than me. I've used a version of a mace before. I've also used, I think you call them grappling hooks here. I've gone fishing before, but I'm not very good at that. I sometimes use bombs. I'm decent with a slingshot. That's about it."

Haymitch has one eyebrow raised. Katniss and Peeta look shocked. "Wow," Peeta says.

"Are you really good with any of those weapons?" Haymitch asks.

I nod. "I'm really good with my sword and shield."

"Your sword and shield?" Haymitch repeats. I nod. "Well, you'll have to be good with any sword and shield, because you won't have yours in the arena."

I shrug. "I can be good with any sword and shield then." I have every intention of taking my sword and shield into the arena.

Haymitch nods. "Well then. Katniss, there's no guarantee there'll be bows and arrows in the arena, but during your private session with the Gamemakers, show them what you can do. Until then stay clear of archery. Are any of you good at trapping?"

"I know a few basic snares," Katniss says.

"I've never tried," I admit. The wolf always gets me food.

"Alright," Haymitch says, "the plan's the same for all of you. You go to group training. Spend the time trying to learn something you don't know. Link, throw a spear. Katniss, swing a mace. Peeta, learn to tie a decent knot. Save showing what you're best at until your private sessions. Are we clear?" Everyone at the table nods. "One last thing," Haymitch continues. "Link, you need to change into the outfit given to you. And in public, I want you by each other's side every minute." I scowl. Why are we even doing this? The friends thing? Doesn't Haymitch, of all people, understand we will be fighting to kill one another? Even if I swore not to kill Katniss, no one else knows that! Despite my objections, none of which I voice, I get up and head to my room to change.

I feel so weak without the chainmail beneath my shirt. So exposed without the magical, self-repairing cloth of the Hero's Clothes. It doesn't feel right. The wolf doesn't agree either. It whines as I take off the familiar fabric, and I find my head unconsciously turning to stare my signature outfit, now thrown haphazardly across the floor. I notice my bed has been repaired. The servants here must hate me.

By the time I've changed and managed to calm the wolf down, it's about time for training. I head to the elevator, where everyone else is already waiting. For once though, I'm not late. I'm right on time. Everyone else just happened to be early. We step into the elevator, and I suddenly notice that it doesn't teleport you. The first time I used it, my head hurt too much for me to take much notice of my surroundings. But now, I can see the floor rushing up to greet us as we stand in the clear, glass box. Apparently, it simply moves up and down. Way less exciting, in my opinion.

The other tributes have clearly decided to keep up my personal streak of being the last one to show. Despite us not being late, all the other tributes are already present, and standing in a circle. We quickly join the tense circle, and the rules of training are explained. We have access to all the stations here in the room, as long as we follow our mentor's instructions. The stations range from archery to swordplay to throwing knives to even tying knots. Per Haymitch's instructions, I won't be able to do about half of them. Literally, all the combat ones. I never realized how many different weapons I've used. Sword, bow, slingshot, hookshot, ball and chain, rod of dominion, and even the wolf's teeth. Several of the weapons I've used are not present. Clearly Hyrule has a more diverse weapon arsenal. The only weapons I haven't used are spears and axes, which are basically longer and fatter versions of a sword, that require two hands to wield properly.

As our main instructor finishes up the explaining, I size up our competition. I'm a lot shorter than most of them. However, I'm just as strong or stronger than most as well. I can tell most of the tributes were always underfed, while I always had enough to eat thanks to either the goats on the ranch or the wolf during my adventure. But I underestimate none of them, for we are all, in a sense, cornered animals, and cornered animals fight harder than most. I, of all people, understand this.

The instructor releases us, and I watch to see where everyone goes. The biggest, toughest looking tributes head straight to the weapons, and I watch them use them. They obviously were trained in using them, but I can tell they've had no real experience. I notice a boy with his legs too spread out, a girl leaning forward too much, another boy holding his shield incorrectly. All the tributes are making tiny mistakes. Tiny mistakes that may eventually cost them their lives.

Peeta nudges my arm, and I jump, my left hand reaching for the Master Sword, only to find it missing. Haymitch insisted I leave it behind. He allowed me to keep my inventory bag, however. That was kind of scary. I have the Twilight Crystal with me, the key that lets the wolf out of its cage, but not the Master Sword, the lock that puts it back inside. "Where would you guys like to start?" Peeta asks.

"I'm open to suggestions, but just a warning. Due to Haymitch's commands, I'm limited to about half the stations," I reply.

"I figured as much," Katniss says. "Should we tie some knots?"

"I've never done that," I admit.

"We should tie some knots then," Peeta agrees.

We head over to the knot station, and our trainer seems thrilled to just have us here. He shows us a trap that will pull a fellow tribute into a nearby tree by their foot only, and we all practice it until we have it mastered. Then we head to camouflage. Peeta is by far the best, easily replicating any pattern of nature, from the sunlight filtering through trees, to a beaten dirt path through the woods. I, however, am by far the worst. Any sneaking I do, I do at night. I always let the wolf out, and it easily slinks through the darkness with its naturally black coat of fur. I'm also not an artist. The combination of those things, results in me mostly just throwing mud on the object I'm camouflaging and calling it good enough.

"I do the cakes," Peeta says to us, as he works.

"The cakes?" Katniss and I repeat in unison.

"At home," he explains. "The iced ones. For the bakery." I nod in appreciation. I've never seen his cakes, since my schedule consisted of heading to the mines in the morning, staying all day, and returning to the woods at night. But I have seen frosted cakes in Hyrule Castle Town. They are beautiful indeed and would explain why Peeta is so good at this.

Lunch is served on the same floor as our training room, and all the tributes are expected to eat together. Most of them sit alone, as far away from one another as possible, but the biggest tributes, Katniss and Peeta call them the 'Careers,' eat together at one table. The three of us eat together of course, but it's always really awkward. Katniss and Peeta hate talking about District 12, and I cannot tell them about Hyrule, the wolf, my Triforce, or the other things on my endless list of secrets I must keep.


	9. Chapter 9

**Author's Disclaimer: I do not own the Legend of Zelda or The Hunger Games. I am earning no profit from this story other than the enjoyment of writing it and sharing it with others. I hope you all enjoy reading it! Feel free to let me know what you think by giving this chapter a review.**

The first two days of public training go by quickly, and I learn many new things like how to start a fire or make a shelter. Many of the things I've learned over the past two days have seemed unimportant, since I've always had the wolf's thick fur coat to serve as a fire or shelter for me. The female tribute from District 11, Peeta believes her name to be Rue, has taken to following us. We mostly ignore her, but she insists on shadowing us.

Not during training, Effie and Haymitch give us the rundown on everything, and I mean everything. What important people watched us, who watched the others, how the others did on certain skills, and even what we did that day. It is incredibly irritating, especially since I feel fairly confident in my ability to remember what I did just a few hours ago.

Finally, the third day. Today, I'm allowed to wear the Master Sword and Hylian shield, but not use them. Tribute by tribute is taken out. Everyone waiting stays in the dining room. One by one, they all leave. Anyone who leaves, doesn't return. Hours go by, and I find myself restless. So is the wolf. My left hand is constantly being pulled down to my inventory bag, and I'm constantly having to force it to stop. Several of the other tributes shoot me strange looks. Rue leaves, and the District 12 tributes are left alone.

"What's up with your hand?" Peeta asks.

"Nervous spasms," I lie.

Peeta shrugs. "I'm sorry."

"No big deal," I reply casually. I grasp my left hand with my right. Peeta is called. Soon, it's my turn. I'm herded into the training room, where about a dozen men stand. Most of them look drunk, and the rest are engrossed in their food. I scowl. I could probably pull out the wolf right now, and none of them would notice. I grab a sword from the pile haphazardly strewn around the sword area. I gently wave it, testing the weight. It's a little lighter than I prefer, and the hilt's too long, but it will do. I grab a shield that's also too light. I should've guessed the Capitol would make weapons for wimps. Nonetheless, I begin to run through my routine, showing off my hidden skills. Several of the men, Gamemakers they're called, have begun to pay slight attention to me. But I'm done with this. I could die in their stupid invention, the Hunger Games, and they don't even bother to pay attention to me.

I throw the sword and shield down onto the floor. The loud clang gets all of them to turn their heads towards me. "You want to see my special talent?" I scream. "You want to see what I can really do?" A few of them take a step back. The rest nod at me, pretty confused. "Well, here you go!" I yell. I finally end my resistance against the endless tug on my left hand. It flies down to my inventory bag and grasps the Twilight crystal. The transformation take place immediately, and the wolf stands up to face the shocked Gamemakers. For once, the wolf and I are in agreement, and we are truly one. The wolf and I growl fiercely. We take a step forward, and the Gamemakers screech, and back away frantically. Many of them trip over each other in their desperate attempt to run from us.

"You're dismissed!" one of them calls, terrified.

The wolf and I smirk, and I summon the Master Sword, the wolf willfully retreating for once. I stand up. "Thank you for your time, gentlemen." With a slight bow, I promptly exit the room.

I take the elevator up to our District's floor. Haymitch, Peeta, and Effie are waiting expectantly. "How did it go?" Effie asks excitedly.

"I would say it went well," I reply with a smug smile.

Haymitch furrows his brow. "What did you do?"

"What do you mean?" I ask innocently.

"I know that look anywhere," Haymitch growls. "I used to wear it quite often myself. You did something you shouldn't have."

"I guess we'll find out tonight," I say with a wink. Tonight, the Gamemakers give us our scores. I don't care what mine is. A number won't dictate what I can do. I would pull out the wolf every time I got the chance, no matter what my score is. Haymitch sighs dramatically, and Peeta and Effie just look nervous.

Soon the elevator door opens, revealing Katniss. She looks really torn up about something. She runs down the hall towards her room. "Katniss!" we're all calling, but she doesn't listen. She stays in her room until dinner, despite Haymitch and Effie's continuous attempts to get her to come out.

Finally, it's dinner time, and Katniss decides to show up. The tension around the table has never been higher, so I decide to lighten the mood. "Well, guess I can't make being late my thing anymore." This comment earns a hollow laugh from Peeta, and the ghost of a smile from Katniss. The adults talk among themselves, and Peeta, Katniss, and I sit in silence. I study her face, trying to figure out what she's so upset about.

Haymitch jumps in. "Okay, enough small talk, just how bad were you today?"

"I don't know that it mattered," Peeta says with a shrug. "By the time I showed up, no one even bothered looking at me. They were singing some kind of drinking song, I think. So, I threw around some heavy objects until they told me I could go."

"Link?" Haymitch asks.

I smirk. "It's top secret. But if you must know, I just swung my sword around."

"Somehow I doubt that," Haymitch sighs. "And you, sweetheart?"

"I shot an arrow at the Gamemakers," Katniss replies casually.

I laugh out loud. "Way to go!"

Effie glares at me, then turns to Katniss. "You what?"

"I shot an arrow at them," Katniss repeats. "Not exactly at them. In their direction. It's like Peeta said, I was shooting, and they were ignoring me and I just...I just lost my head, and I shot the apple out of their stupid roast pig's mouth!"

"And what did they say?" Cinna asks, a little too quietly.

"Nothing. Or I don't know. I walked after that," Katniss huffs.

"Boy, you showed them!" I exclaim. I find this entire thing hilarious.

Effie shoots me another glare. I stick out my tongue at her. Haymitch begins laughing, followed by Peeta. Katniss still seems upset. "Do you think they'll arrest me?" she asks.

Haymitch considers the question. "Doubt it. Be a pain to replace you at this stage."

"What about my family? Will they punish them?" Katniss continues.

"Don't think so. Wouldn't make much sense," Haymitch replies calmly. "See, they'd have to reveal what happened in the Training Center for it to have any worthwhile effect on the population. People would need to know what you did. But they can't since it's secret, so it'd be a waste of effort. More likely, they'll make your life hell in the arena."

"Which they've promised to do anyway," Peeta sighs.

"Very true," Haymitch agrees casually.

I shrug. "Well, you have to tell us. What did their faces look like?"

A smug smile begins to creep its way onto Katniss's grim face. "Shocked. Terrified. Uh, ridiculous some of them." I snicker. They had had the exact same reaction to the wolf. "One man tripped backward into a bowl of punch." That hadn't happened to me. What a shame. Everyone around the table begins laughing, except Effie, but even she's trying hard not to.

We continue dinner, the tension from before completely gone. There is much chatter throughout the rest of the meal, about petty things like fashion or the food we're eating. I realize that I truly care about Katniss and Peeta. But more than that, I know them. Katniss goes hunting in the woods with Gale, and that's where they found me. She is in charge of her household, since her father died in the mines when she was younger, rendering her mother completely unable to do anything. Katniss quickly learned to hunt, and begun trading her game at the Hob, District 12's black market. Her family barely scraped by, but they were never starving. Peeta was the District baker's son, with a witch for a mother. They often ate the squirrels Katniss shot, in exchange for bread. He got to frost the cakes, which was why he was so good at camouflage. They both went to school, were they learned mostly about coal and a little about history. Katniss has one little sister, Prim, and Peeta is an only child.

I know so much about them, and yet they will never know me. I will never tell them about my life in Ordon, or the wolf, or the Triforce of Courage, or the Twilight Invasion. They will never know who I truly am, the failed hero of Hyrule. Even if I told them, they wouldn't believe me. This world has no magic, so my explanation of how I ended up in Panem would make no sense. They would see me as crazy.

We finish eating, and head to the television room to see our scores. The Careers get good scores, but most everyone else gets fairly mediocre ones. Little Rue manages a seven, and I wonder what she did. Finally, it's time for District 12. Peeta gets an eight. I give him a pat on the back. He smiles at me. Katniss gets an eleven.

"Alright!" I cry, practically slapping her on the back. She stumbles forward but flashes me an appreciative smile. Everyone else is cheering and laughing, and then we remember to look back at the TV for my score.

The number 12 flashes on the screen. Twelve. An arrogant smile pushes its way onto my face, but I quickly suppress it. Clearly, the Gamemakers enjoy fiery tempers. I guess it will make the Games more interesting to watch. Now everyone's attention is on me, and we're all smiling and talking about my impressive sword skills. If only they knew what I actually did.

After the excitement wears off, we all head to bed. It has been a long day, after all. But the next few days will be even longer, at least for me. We have something called 'interviews' where someone asks you a bunch of personal questions, and you answer them. Tomorrow we have training for them. It sounds ridiculously boring, and I know I'll spend the entire time keeping the wolf in. It hates conversations, especially long and boring ones. Even so, I sleep well tonight.


	10. Chapter 10

**Author's Disclaimer: I do not own the Legend of Zelda or The Hunger Games. I am earning no profit from this story other than the enjoyment of writing it and sharing it with others. I hope you all enjoy reading it! Feel free to let me know what you think by giving this chapter a review.**

Once again, I wake up to a servant knocking at my door. I drag myself out of bed and change back into my Hero's Clothes and chainmail. Then I meander on down to breakfast, fashionably late as usual. Katniss has a shocked look on her face, and Peeta is staring directly at his breakfast. I quickly load my plate and sit down.

"Is anyone going to tell me what happened?" I ask.

Haymitch takes a deep breath. "Peeta has asked to be coached separately."

"Oh," is all I say. I wasn't expecting that. It's no big deal, really. But still, I have to wonder why. Katniss obviously cares way more than I do.

"Good," she says stiffly. "What's the schedule?"

"Well, first we have to know if you and Link would like to be separated," Haymitch replies.

Katniss shrugs, but her eyes are locked onto Peeta. She feels betrayed. I just know it. "We'll stick together." She says the word 'together' incredibly harshly.

"That's fine with me," I say casually.

"Alright then," Haymitch says with a nod. "In that case, each group will have four hours with Effie for presentation, and four with me for content. You start with Effie, Katniss and Link." I let out an involuntary groan. Four hours with Effie? At least Katniss will be there.

Effie takes us to Katniss's room, and has her try on multiple gowns. I leave every time she's asked to change. I don't bother paying attention, since the lesson is for a girl. I let my eyes wander around Katniss's room. It's much neater than mine. Mine has a pile of clothes on the floor, and the wolf has destroyed the bed again. I ordered the servants to leave my mess alone, since I feel bad making them clean it up. They have listened to that order, but I haven't had time to clean up yet.

After two hours, it's my turn. Effie clearly isn't satisfied with Katniss, but we move on anyway. I lead the way to my room. It is a complete disaster. I had forgotten that last night the wolf ripped up my entire wardrobe as well. Effie gasps as she enters, "I'll get the Avoxes in here immediately!" she cries.

"No!" I yell. She stops. "I told them not to. It's my mess, I'll clean it up."

"Link," Effie says calmly. "Avoxes are traitors. They deserve this." She continues walking out the door.

"No, seriously," I call. "I enjoy cleaning. That's why I tear stuff up. It's relaxing."

Katniss stifles a snicker, but Effie stops walking. "Well, in that case I'll leave it to you then." I sigh in relief. "Okay first, we're going to practice wearing a suit. Put this on." She holds up a black tuxedo, not unlike the ridiculous getup the Avoxes are required to wear. I instantly despise it.

"No," I reply.

"No?" Effie repeats, taken aback.

"No," I say again. "I will wear this."

"You can't wear that armor!" Effie argues, exasperated. "It's not allowed in the arena!"

"I'll take off the chainmail then," I say calmly. "This tunic isn't armor."

"But it's ugly!" Effie retorts.

I narrow my eyes. "I'm sorry you think so."

"Link," Katniss's voice interrupts our argument. "Why do you like that tunic so much?"

I consider the question. "It was my ancestor's," I reply truthfully. But how much truth can I give? I can't think of anything else to say, so I remain quiet.

Effie claps her hands. "Really? That's so historical!" Apparently, she forgot about our previous argument thirty seconds ago. "I'll speak to Portia about allowing you to wear it." I smile, satisfied. "But we still have to talk about your posture," Effie says. She goes on and on. Apparently, I tend to slouch over, holding my hands out like claws, especially when I'm mad. After I stand perfectly straight for several minutes, we move on to eye contact, then hand gestures, and smiling. Smiling is hardest, because I hate doing it. Smiling widely reveals my unnatural wolf's teeth. I always smile without revealing my teeth. Effie makes me show them off the first time, and then gasps when she sees my devilishly sharp canines. We quickly work out a way to smile without showing off my freakishness.

After my turn, we eat a quick lunch, then head into the sitting room with Haymitch. We seat on the couch, and he precedes to just stare at us for a while. I begin to grow restless and decide to make this a staring contest. I stare right back into Haymitch's unblinking eyes, never blinking myself. Finally, Haymitch blinks, and I've forgotten he doesn't know he's playing.

"I win!" I cry triumphantly.

"What?" Haymitch asks.

I remember that this was a one-sided staring contest. "I was doing a staring contest with you," I say. "And I forgot I didn't tell you."

Katniss and Haymitch bust out laughing. Eventually, I join them. After everyone finishes laughing, Haymitch asks, "Why would you do that?"

"I got bored," I reply. I've earned myself another bout of laughter.

"You have the shortest attention span I've ever seen," Haymitch guffaws. "How do you even fall asleep at night?"

"More often than not I don't," I admit. Lack of sleep never seems to be a problem though. At least for me.

Haymitch shakes his head. "Okay. Time to get down to business." Katniss groans. "The reason I was staring at you, is because I don't know what to do with either of you. Katniss. You are a star. You saved your sister. Cinna made you look fabulous on opening night. Link. You also shined. You saved Peeta the first time. Everyone could tell you were upset when he was called again. You both have two of the highest training scores, and no one has ever gotten a twelve before. People are intrigued, but they don't know who you are. The impression you make tomorrow will decide exactly what I can get in terms of sponsors," Haymitch explains.

I purse my lips. The wolf pushes a growl up my throat, but I push it back down. I don't want the Capitol idiots to know who I am. But until I come up with a plan to rebel against their Games, I'm just going to have to play along. "What's Peeta's approach?" Katniss asks sharply. She's still irritated at him. "Or am I not allowed to ask?"

"Likable," Haymitch shrugs. "He has a sort of self-deprecating sense of humor naturally. Whereas when you open your mouth you come across as sullen and hostile. And Link, you are always sarcastic."

"I am not!" Katniss and I cry in unison. Haymitch sighs, and we get right to work. He tries presenting us as humble, cocky, witty, fierce, and mysterious. Haymitch decides I will be fierce. The wolf agrees. It's kind of fun though. I don't have to hide the wolf. Whatever he wants to come out of my mouth, I don't have to hold it down. And plus, those answers aren't mine. They belong to the wolf. I get both the things I want. Fun, and the Capitol citizens won't know who I am. Katniss however, is struggling. She fails at every personality Haymitch gives her.

By the end of our lesson, she is enraged. Haymitch gives up, and she storms up off to her room. I personally don't understand why she's so upset. If you get sponsors, great. If not, oh well. Clearly, that's not her opinion.

Katniss spends the rest of the night in her room, even dinner. Peeta asked me to see if she wanted to come down to eat, so I went up to her room. All I heard was her screaming obscenities and glass breaking. I quickly left her alone.

"And?" Haymitch asks as I return.

"She's furious," I reply.

"She must attend dinner," Effie argues.

"She's in there breaking glass plates," I counter. Effie purses her lips. The Avoxes around our table look worried. I feel bad for them. We finish dinner and head to bed. We have our interviews tomorrow.


	11. Chapter 11

**Author's Disclaimer: I do not own the Legend of Zelda or The Hunger Games. I am earning no profit from this story other than the enjoyment of writing it and sharing it with others. I hope you all enjoy reading it! Feel free to let me know what you think by giving this chapter a review.**

My prep is knocking on my door the next morning. I crawl out of bed and open the door. Peeta is with them. They quickly enter my room and begin working on the pair of us. We are not asked to remove our pants this time. Finally, after hours of working on our hair, skin, and even nails, Portia enters.

I prepare for an argument about letting me wear my Hero's Clothes. She sits down on my wrecked bed, and sighs. "Effie told me how much you care about those clothes," she says.

"I do," I agree.

"Well, Cinna and I have been thinking. We would like to continue the dressing alike pattern we've had going,' Portia explains. "So, if you'll let me, I'm just going to put some stickers on your tunic that you can remove afterwards. Sound good?"

I cock my head, thinking. I also listen to the wolf. It feels fine with it, so I do too. "Alright," I say simply.

"Great," Portia says with a tired smile. She gets right to work. She bustles around me like crazy, sticking glowing flame patterns all over my tunic and hat. By the time she's done, you can't even tell I'm wearing the Hero's Clothes. It is entirely covered in black, red, yellow, and hints of blue. Anytime I move, my entire outfit shimmers like an open flame. Portia finishes with me, and hands Peeta a suit that shimmers and glows in the same way as mine. Then, it's time for the interviews. We're ushered down to the door of the Training Center, since the interviews take place right outside. The door opens, and all twenty-five tributes walk in an orderly line right to our seats. One by one, each tribute is pulled up for a three minute interview with Caesar Flickerman. I stare out at the crowd. If I did not wield the Triforce of Courage, I would be nervous. The power of the goddesses flows through me now, lighting up the back of my left hand. I quickly slap my right hand on top of my left, so no one sees the glow. But, the wolf does not have the Triforce. It is scared. It doesn't like the huge crowd and has retreated into its cage. I can't even feel it right now. That's not good. I was relying on the beast to give me my responses. Oh well. Guess I'm winging it.

Soon, it's Katniss's turn. She absolutely nails it. She talks about her beautiful dresses and how much she likes them. She makes several witty comments about the Capitol and the Gamemakers. And then she talks about Prim. Everyone in the audience is silent, and I believe they truly felt Katniss's pain at having to leave her sister at home. Katniss's emotional interview ends, and I'm wondering how Peeta or I will ever top her.

After her, it's my turn, and I make my way up to the interview chair. "Hello there, Link Ordania," Caesar says.

"Hello," I reply. Haymitch frowns.

"How is our top scoring tribute?" Caesar asks. "And a twelve, no less! You do know no one has ever gotten a twelve before, right?"

"I am aware of that," I reply simply, allowing a smug grin onto my face.

"You must tell us what happened!" Caesar demands.

I sneer. "I'm afraid that's top secret. But I can assure you you'll see my secret in the Games."

"I'm looking forward to it," Caesar says, and he genuinely sounds excited. I can't wait either. I still can't feel the wolf's reaction. It must really be freaked out. Caesar changes the subject. "You know, I've been wondering. Every outfit we've seen you in has had that same outline; the tunic, sock hat, and chainmail. Can you explain why?"

"The tunic I almost always wear was my ancestor's," I reply honestly. "And in my family line, you have to earn the right to wear it. It signifies your status as a... true man." That's kind of true.

"And how did you earn it?" Caesar asks, practically on the edge of his seat.

"I fought off a bear," I lie. The crowd whoops and cheers for me.

"You act so stoic and strong," Caesar says, almost admiringly, "do you have anyone you truly care for? A special lady perhaps?"

I suck in a deep breath. "Yes...yes, I do," I say. "She was my best friend." I think of the one to whom I am referring. Midna. The Twilight princess. The dam I've built inside my head to keep out the endless flow of memories that I'm sure will torment me is suddenly ripped apart. I struggle to hold back the tears that will inevitably come. Midna. The only one who truly knew me. She knew about the wolf, the Triforce, the invasion, everything. Not even Illia knew about all that. And I could never tell her either.

"Go on," Caesar says gently, sensing my pain.

"She...she helped me through some really hard times," I say, my voice cracking. "She was always by my side. My shadow, if you will."

"You keep saying 'was,' Link," Caesar says, and he is frowning. "Tell us why."

"She...is no longer with me," I say, "she...joined our ancestors, I guess." The tears begin to come. I let them come. It feels good to cry. This pain, I've been fighting it this whole time, and yet I denied I was fighting it. Now though, I quit the fight and give in. All my memories of her run through my head.

The crowd is completely silent for several seconds, and then it hits them. What I mean. They begin crying out for me. But they only pretend to know my pain. The citizens of this heavenly Capitol have probably never felt loss in their lives.

"Did she know how you feel?" Caesar asks quietly.

"No," I say. I meant to tell her after we won. But we never did. And she died before I fought against Ganondorf anyway. "I never had the chance to tell her." The crowd goes even wilder.

"I am terribly sorry," Caesar says simply. "Well, Link Ordania, I am certain all of Panem will share in your pain. The buzzer goes off, and I stagger back to my seat. The crowd is going wild. Peeta shoots me a sympathetic look as he walks towards Caesar.

Peeta makes the funniest jokes about everything from bread to showers, building the audience back up after my breakdown. Finally, Caesar asks if Peeta has a girlfriend. Peeta shakes his head.

"Handsome lad like you. There must be some special girl. Come on, what's her name?" Caesar prompts.

Peeta takes a deep breath. "Well there is this one girl. I've had a crush on her ever since I can remember. But I'm pretty sure she didn't know I was alive until the reaping." The crowd sighs.

"She have another fellow?" Caesar continues.

"I don't know," Peeta says, "but a lot of boys like her."

"So, here's what you do. You win, you go home. She can't turn you down then, eh?" Caesar says cheerily.

"I don't think it's going to work out," Peeta says sadly. "Winning...won't help in my case."

"Why ever not?" Caesar asks, puzzled.

Peeta's face turns bright red. "Because…because…" Peeta stammers, "she came here with me."

The cameras hold Peeta's sad eyes for a second, then turn to Katniss. Her face is redder than Peeta's, her jaw is on the floor, and her eyes are full of surprise. Suddenly, she snaps her mouth shut and looks down at the floor. Her face remains a bright pink. "Oh, that is a piece of bad luck," Caesar says, and he actually sounds like he cares. The audience is completely a mess. They are swooning and crying out and screaming.

"It's not good," Peeta agrees.

"Well I don't think any of us can blame you. It'd be hard not to fall for that young lady," Caesar says. "She didn't know?"

"Not until now," Peeta admits.

"Wouldn't you love to pull her back out here and get a response?" Caesar asks the audience. They go completely nuts. "Sadly, rules are rules, and Katniss Everdeen's time has been spent. Well, best of luck to you, Peeta Mellark, and I think I speak for all of Panem when I say our hearts go with yours."

The crowd is going crazy, and the anthem begins to play. I wipe my eyes, but don't bother raising my head. Why should I bother respecting the Capitol? They steal children from their cities and turn them into blood hungry monsters. Too bad I already am one. A broken, depressed, failure of a hero, bloodthirsty animal. That's all I am. I couldn't save Midna. I couldn't save Zelda. Or Illia. Or Epona. Or Colin. Or all of Hyrule. And now they are most certainly all being as oppressed as the Districts as I stand here answering petty questions about who I love. The anthem ends, and all the tributes are ushered into elevator cars with their stylists and chaperones. Peeta and I are shoved into a car together. The ride is spent in silence. I stare out the window, thinking about Midna. Peeta seems happy enough, but he knows I'm hurting, and doesn't say anything. As soon as our door opens, Katniss's opens as well. She storms over to Peeta and shoves him into a pot with artificial flowers. It shatters, cutting Peeta's hands. I have the Master Sword at Katniss's throat in an instant.

"What are you doing?" I hiss. Effie, Haymitch, Cinna, and Portia step out of an elevator.

Effie gasps. "What is going on here?"

"Katniss shoved Peeta into that urn, and now his hands are bleeding," I snarl. The wolf is back now, and growls along with me.

"You had no right! No right to go saying those things about me!" she cries hysterically, staring at the blade pointed at her neck.

"And you had no right to hurt him!" I yell back.

"Why are you on his side?" Katniss screams.

"His side doesn't injure people," I reply simply.

"He made me look weak!" Katniss screeches. I'm certain the entire building can hear her now.

"He made you look desirable," Haymitch counters, stepping forward. "And let's face it, you can use all the help you can get in that department. You were about as romantic as dirt until he said he wanted you. Now they all do. You're all they're talking about. The star-crossed lovers from District 12!"

"After he said he loved me, did you think I could be in love with him, too?" Katniss asks, concerned. It seems she realized she's been given an advantage. I still hold the Master Sword steady.

"I did," says Portia, "the way you avoided looking at the cameras, the blush." Everyone else agrees, but I simply nod, still holding out my blade.

"You're golden, sweetheart," Haymitch adds, "You're going to have sponsors lined up around the block."

"I'm sorry I shoved you," Katniss says to Peeta. I sheath the Master Sword. Katniss relaxes slightly.

"Doesn't matter," Peeta says," although it's technically illegal."

"Are your hands okay?" Katniss continues.

"They'll be alright," Peeta sighs, but blood continues to stream from his many cuts.

I pull a red potion out of my inventory bag. "Drink this," I command.

"What is it?" Peeta asks suspiciously.

"Drink it," I repeat, holding it out to him.

Peeta takes the glass bottle, uncorks it, and pours the potion down his throat. Everyone gasps as the cuts close immediately. Suddenly, Katniss exclaims, "That's what you did that night!"

"I'm sorry. What?" I ask.

"The first night I met you. When you were injured. And then it was gone. That's what you drank!" Katniss explained.

"Maybe," I say with a sly smile and a wink. Peeta hands me my bottle back, and I put it back into my bag. We're all too hungry to say any more about the potion, so we head to dinner. Dinner is eaten in an uncomfortable silence. Tomorrow we go into the arena. Tomorrow Peeta, Katniss, and I will become bitter enemies. After dinner, we watch the reply of the interview. Katniss is beautiful in her twirly dress. I'm very emotional. Very.

"Where did that come from?" Haymitch asks me. "I've never seen that before." Everyone else agrees.

"Well, I got kind of nervous and forgot the plan," I say. That's sort of true. "And, when Caesar brought up a girlfriend, I just thought of her."

"How come you've never cried about it before?" Katniss asks gently.

"Because after she died, I built a wall in my head. I didn't allow myself to think about her. But when Caesar brought it up, I had no choice but to tear the wall down. Does that make sense?"

"Perfect sense," Cinna replies.

"What was her name?" Peeta asks.

I hesitate. "Midna," I say quietly, so quietly. Peeta's interview is playing now, so the conversation ends there. He is funny and charming and absolutely perfect as the lover boy. The anthem plays, and the camera focuses on me, with my head down. Effie purses her lips but doesn't say anything. The television screen goes dark, and we prepare to say goodbye to Effie and Haymitch. They will not be going with us to the arena tomorrow.

"Any final words of advice?" Peeta asks Haymitch.

"When the gong sounds, get the hell out of there. You're none of you up to the bloodbath at the Cornucopia. Just clear out, put as much distance as you can between yourselves and the others, and find a source of water," Haymitch says. "Got it?"

"And after that?" Katniss asks.

"Stay alive," Haymitch replies easily. This time, it isn't a joke.

Effie wishes us all the best, goes on and on about how we're the best tributes she's ever sponsored. That last statement is aimed at Katniss and Peeta. Then she says she's sure she'll be promoted to a decent district. I snicker at her as she leaves. Katniss heads to her room, and I turn to head up to mine. I stop when I feel a hand come down on my shoulder. I turn around. Peeta is standing there, his hand on my shoulder.

"Thank you for giving me that drink," he says.

I smile softly. "No problem, man. It would be unfair to be thrown into the arena injured."

"Where did you get it?" Peeta asks.

I sigh, my smile withering. "I can't tell you that."

Peeta just nods, and then turns to Portia. I am tired, so I head up to bed too. I take my time removing all the flame stickers off my clothes. Just as Portia promised, they come off easily, and not a mark is left on my tunic. I sigh contentedly and let my left hand wander down into my inventory bag. I sleep that night on the floor, next to my ripped apart bed and destroyed wardrobe with the wolf out.


	12. Chapter 12

**Author's Disclaimer: I do not own the Legend of Zelda or The Hunger Games. I am earning no profit from this story other than the enjoyment of writing it and sharing it with others. I hope you all enjoy reading it! Feel free to let me know what you think by giving this chapter a review.**

I'm woken up by someone's soft footsteps padding across the floor. Back and forth, back and forth. I realize they are coming from Katniss's room. It's the middle of the night. I put the wolf back inside and sneak out of my room. Her door is open, and she is no longer inside. The door leading up to the roof is slightly ajar. I can't help myself. I silently slink through the door. Katniss and Peeta are both standing there. They are talking. They don't know I'm here.

"I've never been a contender in these Games anyways," Peeta is saying. I freeze, just listening. I know I shouldn't, but I have to know what he's talking about.

"That's no way to be thinking," Katniss says.

"Why not? It's true. My best hope is to not disgrace myself and…" he trails off.

"And what?" Katniss encourages.

"I don't know how to say it exactly. Only...I want to die as myself. Does that make any sense?" Peeta asks. Katniss shakes her head slowly. I cock my head silently. "I don't want them to change me in there," Peeta continues, trying to explain. "Turn me into some kind of monster that I'm not."

"At least you're not already a monster," I say, finally stepping out of the shadows of the doorway. Both Peeta and Katniss turn to look my way.

"What do you mean, Link?" Peeta asks. "You're not a monster."

I shake my head. "Would you like to see what I showed the Gamemakers?"

"Your swordplay?" Katniss says, but there's a hint of fear in her voice.

I look down at the floor. "If only. No, I showed them the beast inside me. I call it the wolf."

"Link, you're scaring me," Katniss says, her eyes wide. I notice Peeta has moved to stand next to her.

"Show us," Peeta says gently. "We won't tell anyone." Katniss nods numbly.

I smile shakily. "I am a monster," I say quietly. My left hand shoots down into my bag the way it always does when I quit resisting it. I used to wake up as the wolf. Before I learned to resist even while I slept. Always resisting. Always keeping the beast inside. And yet, it always feels so good to let it out. My hand grabs the crystal.

I can feel the transformation, but I keep my eyes trained on Katniss and Peeta. They are the one thing that doesn't change when the wolf comes out. As the wolf stands before them, my fellow tributes just stare at it. They don't move a muscle. They do not accept it, but they are not afraid either. "Link," Peeta says nervously. "Is it still you?"

I grapple with the wolf for control. I win out, as always, and give a curt nod. Katniss sighs in relief and kneels down. Her eyes are level with the wolf's. "How?" is all she says. She reaches her hand out, and gently strokes the wolf's fur. It hates that, but I do not let it bite her. The only person the wolf ever let pet it like this is Midna. We sit there like this for several minutes. At one point, Katniss's eye flick toward the wolf's earrings, and I know she is thinking of the night she almost caught me.

Suddenly, we hear the door get swung open. The wolf retreats into the shadows, and I summon the Master Sword. The transformation takes place silently. I step back into the light. Haymitch is standing there, his arms crossed. He doesn't look pleased. Peeta and Katniss stare at me for just a second, before snapping their eyes back to Haymitch. "What's this, a late-night council?" he growls. I can smell the wine on his breath.

"We couldn't sleep," Peeta says.

"Then get to bed and keep trying!" Haymitch retorts. None of us are in any mood to argue, so we head back towards our rooms without complaint.

"Why didn't you tell me earlier?" Katniss whispers to me. She is referring to the night she saw the wolf before.

"I didn't trust you then," I reply honestly.

"And you do now?" she asks.

"I'm afraid so," I answer with a sigh. Katniss merely nods. Trust will make tomorrow that much harder. We both head to our rooms, and I let the wolf out again. The next morning, I wake up early for once. I'm not nervous, the Triforce of Courage makes sure of that. But it's been working hard all night, and my hand is actually hot from its endless efforts to keep fear out of my mind. I summon the Master Sword, putting the wolf back inside. I clean up my room up a bit, throwing piles and piles of shredded cloth down a disposal. Eventually, Portia knocks on the door. I open it, and she comes inside. She's not holding any clothes.

"I'm wearing this," I say anyway.

She shakes her head. "The Capitol decides what you wear into the arena."

"That's stupid!" I exclaim.

"It's the rules," Portia sighs. "What will you be taking as your district token?"

"My district token?" I repeat.

"Something to remind you of District 12," Portia explains.

"Oh," I say. I consider the question. "This," I decide, pointing to the horse call Illia made for me still hanging around my neck.

"Put this on for the ride to the arena," Portia commands, holding out a simple white shirt.

"Fine," I growl. I shove the Master Sword, Hylian Shield, the Hero's Clothes, and my chainmail into my inventory bag, and clip it back onto my belt. I quickly put on the white shirt. Portia eyes my bag, but simply says "Let's go." Portia escorts me and Peeta down to the front of the Training Center. A strange flying vehicle the others call a 'hovercraft' is waiting for us. I grab onto the ladder and feel my muscles freeze. My heart rate increases, and I begin to struggle against the invisible force. I can climb a ladder by myself, thank you very much. The ladder begins to raise up into the hovercraft, and I'm still struggling to move. I'm lifted up into the hovercraft, and a man approaches me with a super tiny, super thin sword.

"This is your tracker, Link," the man explains, "I can place it more efficiently if you're still." I do not want that man to come over here and inject something in me. The wolf doesn't either. We resist together, pushing against this invisible freeze ray. Finally, we break free, and the strange force keeping us still shatters. I throw a punch at this man, and he collapses immediately. An alarm goes off somewhere, and several armed guards run into my room. I hunch over, preparing for a fight. The wolf pushes a savage snarl up my throat, and I let it come out. The guards are armed with these advanced bows called guns. I charge one of them, but they all fire at me at the same time. Only one bullet hits me, and I realize it's a dart. I feel drowsy all of a sudden, but I fight to stay conscious. The wolf is desperate too, and we combine our strengths again, fighting against the urge to fall asleep. I never give in, dragging myself forward on all fours towards one of the guards. He fires at me again, and I feel the dart land in my shoulder. The drowsiness grows stronger, and I can barely keep my eyes open. I keep pushing, one step at a time. I don't even have a destination anymore. All I know is that if I stop moving, the desire to sleep will overcome me, and I'm not sure I'll wake up. I feel another dart plant itself in my back, and the urge is too great. I collapse on the floor, closing my eyes, and everything goes black.

When I come to, I'm in a room. It looks like my room in the Training Center with a shower, sink, and toilet. Portia is standing over me, and I realize I'm lying on a floor made of dirt. My inventory bag is gone. "Why did you resist?" she sighs.

"I wasn't about to let someone put something inside my body without my permission," I reply, my voice dangerously low.

"You missed breakfast," Portia says quietly.

"I bet I was missed," I reply.

Portia gestures to a package on the floor. "Your clothes from the Capitol. Please just put them on. No resisting."

"Fine," I snarl. I pick myself up off the floor, walk over to the package, and rip it open, already hating what's inside. Inside is a light green shirt, a pair of pants, a brown belt, a black jacket, socks, and leather boots. I sling the belt over my shoulder despite Portia's dismay.

"I have to go help Peeta," Portia says. "There's food over there for you." She points towards a small platter of eggs and bacon.

"Goodbye," I call. Portia waves to me before walking out of my room. I scarf down my breakfast and sit in silence until a voice tells me it's time for launch. I stand on a circular metal plate in the floor, and soon a glass cylinder is lowered around me. I don't like it. Feels too much like a cage. It begins to raise me up, like the elevator in the Training Center. It takes me up into the sunlight, and I blink several times as my eyes adjust to the sudden brightness.

Then I hear the announcer of the Hunger Games, I can't remember his name, call out, "Ladies and gentlemen, let the Seventy-fourth Hunger Games begin!" I know we're required to stand on our plates for a minute. If we don't, we get blown to smithereens by mines placed all over the starting area. I must say I'm glad Peeta mentioned that the other night.

I take in the supplies laid out before us, spread all around the Cornucopia. My eyes land on a familiar cloth bag, right in the center of the golden horn. My inventory bag. A sneer spreads across my face. No matter what Haymitch said, I'm getting that bag. It doesn't look particularly significant, so hopefully the other tributes will not think much of it. Apparently, the Gamemakers found my weapons so interesting, they just threw them into the arena. I don't see any of my weapons spread around, so they're probably still inside the bag.

I now study my surroundings. Katniss is right next to me. The Cornucopia is surrounded by a large area of hard, packed dirt. A lake is to my right, in front of me some sort of cliff, and behind me is a forest. A forest! That is where I will go after I get the bag.

Suddenly, the gong rings and I race towards the pile, only one thing in my sight. I quickly reach the bag, before anyone else arrives at the Cornucopia. I scoop it up, clip it to my belt, and prepare to run. I'm greeted by a group of Career tributes, all armed to the teeth with swords, spears, and axes.

"Hey, fellas," I say with a smirk. I get no response. I quickly grab the Master Sword and pull it out of my bag. I prepare for a fight, backing up slowly. I would much rather just run straight into the woods. I am not afraid. I am very confident I could easily kill every single tribute right here. But I don't want to. So, I continue to back away. One of them, the boy from 1, charges me, and I knock the sword he's carrying out of his hands easily. It clatters to the floor a few feet away. He freezes, but I make no move to attack. Instead, I turn around and run with all my strength. I sheath the Master Sword and swing the sheath onto my back. I hear a bowstring get pulled back, and an arrow whizzes past me, a few feet to the left. I scoop it up and put it in my bag. Whoever fired it doesn't try again, and no one bothers pursuing me. I pause to go through my bag and am pleased to learn everything is indeed still inside. I slip on my Hero's Clothes and chainmail, and then run through the woods for hours, searching for a source of water.

I find nothing, and as twilight begins to fall, I hear cannons going off in the distance to tell us how many tributes are dead. I count eleven shots. Eleven dead, fourteen to go. I decide to stop and camp for the night. I won't make a fire, but I won't need one. The wolf's fur is plenty warm. I find a nice willow tree to sleep under for the night. I let the wolf out, not bothering to think about all the audiences I'm shocking at home. The wolf's eyes close, and I let sleep come to me.


	13. Chapter 13

**Author's Disclaimer: I do not own the Legend of Zelda or The Hunger Games. I am earning no profit from this story other than the enjoyment of writing it and sharing it with others. I hope you all enjoy reading it! Feel free to let me know what you think by giving this chapter a review.**

I'm woken up by Panem's anthem playing. The death recap. I look to the skies to see who is dead. The girl from 3, boy from 4, boy from 5, both from 6 and 7, boy from 8, both from 9, and girl from 10. I sigh in contentment. Katniss and Peeta are alive. Suddenly, I hear a rustling in the tree above me. The wolf's eyes search for the source of the sound, its ears swiveling back and forth. It's nose quivers, sniffing. I can smell a scent very familiar to me and the wolf. Katniss! Katniss is in that tree! I'm not sure what to do. I could just stay here and hope she doesn't notice me. Or I could run. But I'm not sure I want to leave her. What if she dies tomorrow and I could have saved her? I decide to stay. The wolf lays its head on the ground, closes its eyes, and sleep finds us quickly.

I'm rudely woken up again by twigs being snapped. The wolf immediately stands up, all senses hard at work. It's still nighttime. Suddenly, I smell flames, and look to my right. One of my fellow tributes is starting a fire. Well, that's bad for me and Katniss. Certainly, those flames will attract every Career in the arena towards our sleeping area. I decide to put that fire out.

I get up, and soundlessly make my way towards the fire. Hopefully, Katniss is still sleeping, and doesn't see me. The wolf steps into the soft glow cast out by the flames. It growls menacingly, and the girl looks up with a shriek. The wolf takes a step forward. The girl trips over herself trying to escape it. She gets a hold of herself, gathers her few meager belongings, and bolts. The wolf snorts in satisfaction. I put it back inside, and quickly put out the telltale flames by pouring dirt on them. With the fire extinguished, I let the wolf back out, and head back to my willow tree. I look towards the canopy and notice two eyes staring at the wolf. They are human eyes. Katniss is watching the wolf. It freezes, and I put it inside again. I approach the tree. My eyes cannot make Katniss out. But I know she is up there.

"Truce?" I whisper quietly. I stand several feet away from the tree.

For several seconds, I receive no response. "Truce," Katniss says to me.

"We'll separate tomorrow," I say.

"Okay," Katniss agrees tiredly. I let the wolf back out, and it quickly falls asleep. But its ears remain alert all night. I no longer completely trust the girl on fire.

The next morning, I lie under the tree for a while, trying to get as much sleep as possible. The light of dawn begins to peek over the trees when I hear footsteps. At first, I believe it to be Katniss getting out of her tree. Then I realize it's several pairs of footsteps. I'm tempted to run, but I don't want to be a coward. So, I remain under my tree, the wolf completely frozen. I hope the tributes will just pass us by, but they stop right next to our tree. I don't dare move now, as I would make way too much noise. I'm not even behind the trunk of the tree. I study the pack in front of me. As I predicted, most of them are Careers. But what shocks me the most, is when Peeta comes to stand in their circle. Peeta! Peeta is a part of a Career pack. I can't believe it. The wolf lets out an involuntary snarl. All six tributes flash a flashlight onto the wolf. It prepares to pounce, but I quickly regain control of it. I remain perfectly still, the wolf snapping at me, wanting to rip apart these tributes, particularly Peeta.

All the Careers stare at the wolf, hesitating. One of them takes out an axe, and I prepare to run, but then Peeta says, "It's just a stupid wolf. Not worth hunting. Just leave it alone." The one with the axe stops. "We still have to find whoever lit that fire anyway." The others nod in assent and continue moving.

My mind has gone into overdrive. What just happened? Peeta is with the Careers, yes, but he also just saved me. He knew it was me, I showed him! So why didn't he just let the girl with the axe kill me? I'm so confused. But then I realize how dry the wolf's mouth is, and I decide to head out in search of water. I leave before Katniss even gets out of her tree. I promised her we'd separate, and so now we will. I keep the wolf out, since it can travel much further, much faster than I could. I use its nose, sniffing for any sign of water or game. I find a nice rabbit that the wolf easily catches. It scarfs it down, and I go ahead and allow the wolf to drink the blood of the rabbit. The wolf seems to enjoy it, and it should give me enough liquid to find water. However, I do it discreetly so the cameras can't see what I'm doing. I don't need people thinking I'm a savage. After finishing its meal, the wolf continues our hunt for water. We search most of the day, and I was definitely pleased with my decision to drink the blood. The wolf is very thirsty, but not dehydrated. Not yet. Finally, as the sky begins to darken, I find a small stream. The wolf laps the water appreciatively. I will need to keep the wolf out for the next few hours now, because its immune system can certainly handle any illnesses in the water. Twilight covers the arena once again, and the wolf slips into the shadows. It lays its head on the cold, stone floor and sleep quickly finds us.


	14. Chapter 14

**Author's Disclaimer: I do not own the Legend of Zelda or The Hunger Games. I am earning no profit from this story other than the enjoyment of writing it and sharing it with others. I hope you all enjoy reading it! Feel free to let me know what you think by giving this chapter a review.**

I wake up at the crack of dawn once again. I have not been able to sleep well lately. The Triforce of Courage doesn't let me feel fear, but the wolf doesn't possess it, and it is afraid and uneasy. At any minute, a fellow tribute could crash through the trees and into our hiding place. I, however, am unafraid. Not only do I have the Triforce, I am very confident in my fighting skills. I have taken out bulbins, Darknuts, and even lizalfos. I'm certain I can handle inexperienced humans. I spend much of today with the wolf inside, just sitting by the stream. I shoot a squirrel with my bow but save it for later. I'll eat it tonight with the wolf out, then sleep with it out so it can digest it. I would probably get sick from eating raw meat.

The rest of the day is uneventful. I sit by the stream, mindlessly sharpening the Master Sword even though it doesn't need it, just because it gives my hands something to do. I let the wolf out at around noon and eat the squirrel and drink some water. I keep it out until nightfall, catch a rabbit, eat it, drink more water, then go to sleep with the wolf out. Just before going to sleep, I check the sky. Only the silly girl who's fire I doused earlier died. Oh well. I did try to save her. I guess I'm just really bad at this hero thing.

The next morning, I prepare for another boring day. Yesterday, I did try to think of a way out of here, but so far, I've got nothing. I'll just keep thinking, I suppose. I let the wolf get us some breakfast, but force it back to the stream after eating, and make it sit down and wait. I am not bored today. Fighting with the wolf for control, especially with it out, is no easy task. It is a mental battle, not one cameras could be recording. All they would see is the wolf just sitting there, occasionally twitching.

Finally, just as I prepare to get lunch, something interesting happens. I put the wolf back inside, since I was certain that my breakfast had gone through its digestive system and I am no longer at risk of getting sick. And then I hear something. It is a slight rustle in the leaves, but it sounds different from wind or animals. It sounds like something falling onto the floor. I tense, unsheathe the Master Sword, and wait for something to crash into my area. Nothing appears. I hear nothing else. I just can't stand waiting around any longer. Being the bearer of the Triforce of Courage alone makes me a sucker for adventure, but the wolf hasn't done anything in the past two days, and it is bored. So, I creep towards where I heard the sound originate, my footsteps falling silently. I gently move some vines out of my face, and gasp. Laying in front of me on the floor, barely conscious, her lips bloodied and cracked, is Katniss.

I know I promised we'd split up, but I can't just leave her here to die! She is clearly dehydrated and needing water. I pick up her torso and sling her over my shoulder. She isn't heavy, and I'm pretty strong. I walk back towards my little camp. Katniss seems completely unaware that she is being moved. I prop her up against a rock next to the stream and pull an empty bottle out of my bag. I fill it with water, but then remember that Katniss will need her water to be purified. She doesn't have the wolf's digestive system the way I do. I don't have any iodine, so I dig through Katniss's bag, hoping she does. She does, indeed! I pour out what I hope is the right amount of the stuff and cork the bottle. Katniss will have to wait half an hour before she can drink the water. I go through Katniss's bag again, hoping to find a watch or something like that. Unfortunately, she doesn't have one. I'll just have to guess on time.

When I'm fairly certain it's been half an hour, I remove the lid and hold it up to her. "Want some water?" I ask gently.

Her hazy eyes clear up, and she forcefully takes the bottle from me, as if she's scared I'll take it away. She raises the bottle to her lips, then pauses. Katniss slowly drinks the whole bottle. When she's finished, she looks much healthier. The water washed the blood from her lips, and her eyes no longer look glazed over. She looks at me for the first time, as if just realizing I'm here. She cocks her head, and hands the bottle back to me. "Why?" she asks. Her voice is hoarse.

"Why what?" I say, confused.

"Why did you save me?" Katniss asks weakly. She still needs more water.

"I'm supposed to be a hero," I answer simply. I uncork the bottle and begin to scoop water into it.

"No," Katniss says. I stop. "Use this," she continues, and pulls out a huge canteen. I nod. I dump out my bottle and fill the canteen. I put more iodine in it, and we sit down to wait.

My stomach grumbles, and I stand up. "I'm going to get us some lunch," I announce.

Katniss nods. I leave the clearing, listening for any little animals scampering about. I can't hear anything, so I let the wolf out. Fortunately, it can hear a rabbit nearby. The wolf easily creeps up behind it, and pounces, quickly ending the rabbit with a single bite. I put the wolf back inside and carry the rabbit back to the stream. Katniss is there, drinking some more water.

I hold up the rabbit triumphantly. "Look what I got."

Katniss smiles tiredly. "How will we cook it?" she asks. She sounds much better.

I purse my lips. I hadn't considered that. "Maybe we can just heat up a rock."

"Okay, but we'll still need a fire for that," Katniss argues.

I sigh. "I'm out of suggestions."

"It's okay," Katniss says. "I've already got a cooked rabbit."

"Oh good," I say, "I'll eat the raw one."

"You'll get sick," Katniss retorts.

I smile. "I will," I agree. "The wolf won't."

Katniss nods in understanding, and I let my left hand grab the Twilight crystal. The wolf hungrily devours the entire rabbit, and Katniss slowly eats her cooked one. The wolf finishes its meal and sits down with a contented snort. It wants to sniff Katniss, but I don't let it. Katniss eats most of the rabbit but offers the last bite or two to the wolf. It quickly eats the entire chunk in one bite, but I'm careful to not let it bite Katniss's hand.

Katniss sighs. "Does it feel weird?" she asks.

The wolf cocks it's head.

"Being a wolf?" Katniss continues.

I consider the question. I have the wolf give a short nod. Perhaps later I can truly explain it to her. I bet the audiences watching are shocked Katniss knows my secret.

"This is what you showed the Gamemakers, isn't it?" Katniss questions.

I make the wolf nod again.

Katniss seems content, and we sit in silence for the next few hours. After I decide that the wolf has had enough time to digest the rabbit, I summon the Master Sword. I let out an involuntary sigh as I stand up again.

"Do you always turn back with the sword in your hand?" Katniss asks, gesturing to the Blade of Evil's Bane resting comfortably in my left hand.

"The Master Sword is the only way I can turn back," I reply, sheathing the holy blade and sitting back down.

"What do you mean?" Katniss asks, intrigued.

"Well," I begin. I put my leather gloves on and pull out the Twilight crystal. "This is what lets the wolf out. It's evil magic." Katniss looks shocked and bewildered. She tentatively reaches out to touch it. I quickly grab her hand. "Don't touch it," I say sternly.

Katniss looks cross. "Are you the only one allowed to be a wolf?"

I sigh. "It's not that simple. If you touched it, you would probably just become a spirit. Unable to see anyone else, always afraid, etcetera etcetera, bad stuff."

"Then why do you become a wolf?" Katniss asks. She retracts her hand after hearing my brief explanation.

I pocket the crystal and remove my gloves. I show off the Triforce mark on my left hand. "This is called the Triforce of Courage. It's like, this crazy powerful artifact, and it keeps me from becoming a spirit. But it's not powerful enough to block out the magic entirely, so the wolf comes out."

Katniss nods slowly. She seems really overwhelmed. "What about the sword?" she says.

"The Master Sword is the antithesis of evil. It is powerful enough to counter the crystal and puts the wolf back inside me. It also can't be wielded by anyone except…" I trail off. The smug smile I am wearing slowly disappears. I don't deserve the Master Sword. Not anymore. I honestly can't believe it still lets me hold it. Maybe it still believes in me. I don't know.

"Except who?" Katniss encourages.

"Except...except the one with the Triforce of Courage," I reply. Katniss seems to understand she's reached a touchy subject, so she quits asking questions.

It's about dusk now, and Katniss prepares another water bottle before we head to sleep. Half an hour later, Katniss and I sit next to each other as we listen to the anthem playing. I hold my hands over my ears because it is so loud. There were no deaths today.

"Too loud for you?" Katniss asks after the song ends. She seems amused.

"Yeah," I say, finally lowering my hands.

"Do some of the wolf's qualities carry over when you're a human?" Katniss asks.

"Uh, yeah I guess so," I reply. I've never really thought about it. "I mean, I can hear really well, and my teeth are pretty messed up so, yeah. I'd say that's true."

"Is that why your ears are pointed?" Katniss continues.

"Um...yes," I lie. I'd never noticed that I was the only one here with pointed ears. Back in Hyrule, people had both pointed ears and rounded ones. Ilia had round ones and Zelda had pointed. But in Panem, I guess I am the only one with pointed ears.

"Well, I'm going to bed," Katniss announces several minutes later. We had elapsed into companionable silence again.

I nod. "Me too. I'll hear if anyone comes within a fifty feet radius, even if I'm sleeping." Katniss nods. She climbs into a tree and proceeds to belt herself onto a branch securely. Pretty smart. I simply find a sizable rock alcove and lay down on the cold, unwelcoming, stone surface. Even so, I'm used to sleeping outdoors, and I'm soon dead asleep.


	15. Chapter 15

**Author's Disclaimer: I do not own the Legend of Zelda or The Hunger Games. I am earning no profit from this story other than the enjoyment of writing it and sharing it with others. I hope you all enjoy reading it! Feel free to let me know what you think by giving this chapter a review.**

The next morning, I am awakened by the harsh smell of smoke. My eyes snap open, my muscles tensing, preparing to run away from the fire I smelled. I can't see much, and my eyes begin stinging immediately. I turn around, and I am greeted by a quickly advancing wall of flames. "Katniss!" I scream. "Katniss, wake up!" My stinging eyes can't see where she is, but I hear her fumbling with the belt keeping her in the tree. A second later, I hear her crash to the ground. She quickly gets up, and we both bolt.

I can run much faster than Katniss, and the wolf is roaring at me to do so, but I'm not leaving her to burn. I easily run at her clumsy pace. We both trip over every branch that emerges from the smoke randomly. Worse than the fire itself is the smoke. It renders my eyesight completely useless, fills up my nose so all I can smell is the putrid stench. My throat burns and the smoke fills it up, keeping air from entering my lungs. But we still continue running.

Katniss's jacket catches fire, and she stops to extinguish it. But the fire is approaching too fast, and we won't be able to make it. But my Hero's Clothes are very heat resistant. So, I tackle Katniss, eliciting a shriek from her, and pin her underneath me. I make sure all of her exposed skin is under my green tunic and brace myself. The fire advances over us, Katniss still screaming and thrashing, and I bite my tongue hard to keep from screaming in agony. The metallic taste of blood soon fills my mouth. After the wall of fire passes over us, I roll off of Katniss. I'm too weak to stand up. She easily stands up. My plan worked. She only has a few burns on her arms and legs. I am a different story. My legs are completely burnt up underneath my pants and my face feels like it was melted off. Katniss glares at me. "What was that for?" she yells. Her knife is sitting in her right hand.

"What do you mean?" I ask. My voice is raspy.

"Why did you jump on top of me?" she screams.

"Look at yourself," I reply, my voice dangerously low, "and look at me, and you tell me the answer."

She glances down at herself, and her jaw drops when she notices her lack of burns. Her glare is completely gone when she looks back up at me. She starts crying. "Why do you keep saving me, you idiot?"

I'm not sure how someone can be crying and calling someone an idiot at the same time, but okay? "I told you," I groan, my burns still hurting. "I'm supposed to be a hero." I pull out my last red potion and chug it. I sigh in relief as my burnt skin fixes itself. Katniss just stares at me in awe.

"Who are you?" she asks quietly. "Who are you really?"

"I'm Link," I reply. I wish I could really answer her question.

"No, that's not what I mean," Katniss sighs. I shrug. "Well, thanks I guess," Katniss says awkwardly.

"No problem," I reply. I glance towards where the fire had gone. "Glad we're not over there." I gesture to the section of forest just in front of us. Fireballs are zipping all over the place. Each one looks deadly.

"Agreed," Katniss says with an uneasy smile. She slips her knife back into her bag.

I notice a pool of water a ways away from us. The fire seems to have been extinguished, and we need water. "Let's head over there." I point towards the precious spring. Katniss nods, and we head towards the water. We set up camp there quickly. I catch another rabbit.

"I think we should cook it," I say, "there's so much smoke here another fire won't bring any attention to us."

"Sounds good," Katniss agrees. We start a fire and cook the rabbit. I must admit, cooked rabbit tastes much better than raw ones. The wolf is of the same opinion. The sun has not gone down yet, but Katniss and I are both exhausted. She climbs up into a tree again, and I sleep on the ground next to the spring.

The loud sound of several pairs of feet crashing through the trees shakes me out of my sleep. I stand up quickly, and unsheathe the Master Sword. I glance up towards Katniss. I can't tell if she's awake or not. I look around for a place to hide but find nowhere. I can't climb like Katniss. The other tributes are far too close to let the wolf out. They'd probably see me letting it out. So, I stand completely still, sword and shield at the ready, my enhanced ears tracking their every move. Finally, the crash through the trees into our clearing. It's the Careers and Peeta again. They stop several feet away from me, and several of them grin smugly.

"Hello, gentlemen," I call out to them. "How's your day going?" I can see they are quite burnt from the fire. Several are limping.

They look taken aback. Clearly, they were not expecting sarcasm. "Just fine," one boy replies. "Yours?"

"Excellent," I reply, grinning wolfishly. I make sure to show off my canines. "I'm about to get six kills."

The boy laughs. "I don't think so. I'm the best swordsman here."

"Might I remind you I did earn a twelve in training," I retort. "And swordsmanship is my forte."

"Is that true, lover boy?" a girl barks to Peeta. Peeta looks down at the floor.

"Yes," Peeta replies.

The male tribute challenging me takes a step back. "Well, there's no way you can take all six of us."

"Perhaps not," I agree. "If I didn't know this move!" I hold my sword out to the side and watch as a tiny spark makes its way up the blade. Once it reaches the tip, I spin in a circle, the blade of the Master Sword creating a wave of energy behind it. I spin a full circle and return to facing down the Careers. "Come on," I challenge. "Come at me!" They stare at me for several seconds before charging at me all at once. Except Peeta. I easily dodge all their weapons and disarm every single one of them. I scoop up their strange assortment of weapons ranging from short daggers to broadswords to axes. Every one lands in my magical inventory bag.

With their weapons lost to me, the Careers regroup. I turn to face them, sheathing my blade. "Thanks for the weapons," I say with a fake smile. "Now run along before I decide to take your lives as well." Every one of their silly little pack turns and runs. I watch the boy chew Peeta out for not helping fight. I smirk, before turning towards Katniss's tree.

"Big help you were!" I call sarcastically. I am rather irritated. She didn't even try to assist me. Not that I needed it. She climbs down from her tree followed by the little girl from District 11. Rue. I turn on the child and unsheathe my sword once more. The wolf has not calmed down yet. Rue recoils, and prepares to run, but Katniss throws her hands out in front of the Master Sword.

"No, Link!" she scolds. "She's on our side!"

I calm the wolf and myself down, trying to ignore the adrenaline that still rushes through my veins. "Okay," I say. It sounds like a growl. "Sorry, Rue."

Rue studies me. She's so small. I am impressed she is still alive. She must be very clever. "It's alright," she decides.

I smile, hoping it doesn't look like a grimace. "I got your bow, Katniss," I say, holding out the shiny silver weapon for her to take. "And a dozen arrows."

Katniss gingerly takes her favorite weapon from me, a smile forming on her face. "Thanks," she says breathlessly. She looks into my eyes, and her smile wilts. "Why do you have to be so nice?"

"What's wrong with kindness?" I ask. With the adrenaline gone, my voice no longer sounds so bestial. I can see Rue relaxing, her tense muscles slowly unwinding.

"Because if we make it to the top three, we'll have to kill each other," Katniss says sadly.

"We'll worry about that later," I say with a shrug.

"You'll definitely make it to the final stages, Mister," Rue says quietly. "That's the best fighting I've ever seen."

"Well, thanks," I reply awkwardly. "So, you're from District 11, right?"

"Agriculture," Katniss adds.

"Yes," Rue says. "And you guys are from 12?"

"Yeah," Katniss and I say in unison.

"I feel bad for you," Rue says, "having to send in three tributes and all."

"I guess so," Katniss sighs. The conversation kind of trails off there.

"How about we lay out all our supplies?" Rue suggests several minutes later. "You know, to plan for food and stuff."

"Sounds good," Katniss agrees. I nod. I watch as Rue pulls out a slingshot, a pair of socks, a sort of sharp rock, a small waterskin, and a ton of nuts and berries. Katniss pulls out her water canteen, beef jerky, crackers, matches, iodine, her sleeping bag, her burnt jacket, and a small thin sheet of plastic. Rue gasps in surprise as Katniss pulls out some strange pair of glasses.

"Where did you get those?" Rue exclaims.

"My backpack," Katniss replies. She sounds puzzled. "They haven't been very useful though. They don't block out the sun and just kind of mess up my vision."

"They're for nighttime," Rue says. "They help you see in the dark! Try them out tonight!"

"Okay," Katniss agrees.

Both Rue and Katniss are shocked at the things I pull out of my bag. I pull out my four empty bottles, my fishing rod, my ball and chain, my double clawshots, my spinner, my bomb bag, my dominion rod, my huge boomerang, my hawkeye goggles, my bow, my iron boots, my lantern, the Twilight crystal, and my slingshot. I also add the Master Sword, my Hylian shield, and quiver of arrows to the huge pile before me.

"How does that all fit in there?" Katniss asks incredulously.

"I don't know," I reply honestly.

Rue picks up my slingshot. "Can I have this?" she asks timidly.

"Sure," I shrug. "I prefer my bow anyway." Rue brightens and takes the slingshot as well as my pumpkin seeds I use for ammunition. We sit in silence for several more minutes as I put my excessive number of items back into my tiny little bag, Rue admires her new slingshot, and Katniss admires her new bow.

"You know," Katniss says finally, "the Careers will come back."

"Yes," Rue agrees. "I've been watching them. They have a camp down by the lake with more weapons and tons of food."

"Sounds like we should take it," I growl. "They couldn't feed themselves for a day."

"I agree," Katniss says, "but we can't just walk right into their camp."

"Let's figure it out tomorrow," Rue sighs. "I'm tired."

"I'll keep watch tonight," I volunteer. "We actually have a chance of being found."

"Good idea," Katniss says. "Wake me in three hours." I nod. They both head up into a tree just as the anthem starts playing. No casualties again. The Gamemakers probably hate me for not killing anyone. When I'm certain at least Rue has gone to sleep, I let the wolf out. It catches us a nice squirrel for dinner. The wolf gnaws on its game at the edge of our camp. The Careers don't come back tonight. I don't wake Katniss. I almost never get tired, unless I've been running around all day. Nothing exciting happened yesterday anyway. All I really did is win a super easy fight. Not enough to tire me and the wolf out.


	16. Chapter 16

**Author's Disclaimer: I do not own the Legend of Zelda or The Hunger Games. I am earning no profit from this story other than the enjoyment of writing it and sharing it with others. I hope you all enjoy reading it! Feel free to let me know what you think by giving this chapter a review.**

A cannon fires at dawn, most definitely waking the girls up. I quickly put the wolf away. Sure enough, I hear some rustling in the trees, confirming my theory. Several minutes later, we're all on the ground again. I bet they wish they could stay in the trees, but I'm just too big to climb. I also don't know how. "Who do you think that was?" Katniss asks, stifling a yawn.

"No idea," I reply. "But I bet the Careers are back on the hunt."

"Well so are we," Katniss says confidently. "We're taking out their food today!"

"How?" I ask. Rue cocks her head.

"We'll figure it out," Katniss says with a shrug.

"I've got breakfast," Rue interrupts, showing us two eggs inside her hands. Rue and Katniss eat the eggs, I take some jerky, and we all have a bit of rabbit left over from Katniss's cooked one.

"We'll make a plan while we hunt," Katniss decides. Rue and I agree. We don't actually do much hunting because Katniss and I try to learn everything possible about the Careers' camp from Rue. Rue tells us the Careers have a camp right next to the lake, their supply stash is about thirty yards away from the water, and the boy from 3 is always on guard. The strangest thing to me is that all their supplies are out in the open. Definitely a trap. If my adventures have taught me anything, it's that nothing is that simple.

We talk for a while about other things besides the Careers. Rue is the oldest of six kids and is very protective of her siblings. She loves music. Katniss tells Rue about herself, and I share what little I can, even going so far as to show her the Triforce of Courage and the wolf.

At lunch we have a plan. We eat a quick meal and split up. Katniss is going to head down to the Careers camp, and I will assist Rue in setting up our decoy campfires. We travel far enough away from their camp that we will be noticed, but hopefully far enough that they won't be able to catch us. Rue is so small the wolf is able to carry her on its back. Rue seems to enjoy this, and the wolf does too. It has taken a liking to little Rue. Perhaps she reminds it of Midna. Perhaps Rue reminds the beast of the good old days when Midna, it, and I would run around Hyrule saving the world together.

We race through the woods loudly, and at no time at all, we have the first fire set up. We leave quickly and begin to set up the next several hundred feet away. But the Careers are onto us. I hear them coming, even though the fire isn't completely lit.

"We need to get out of here," I whisper to Rue. She cocks her head. She can't hear them yet. Nonetheless, I let the wolf out, and she climbs on without hesitation.

We get to the area for the next fire, deciding to continue with the plan anyway. Suddenly, a series of loud explosions go off. Too loud, for my delicate ears. I growl in pain as the thundering continues, each boom sending another wave of pain through my ears. Finally, the booms end. Rue approaches me. Her lips move, but I can't hear what she said. I cock my head.

"What?" I say. I can hear myself.

Rue's eyes widen, and she rushes over to me. She claps a hand over my mouth and begins saying more things. I still can't hear her. I must have yelled pretty loudly. At least I'm not deaf. She seems to understand that I can't hear much and begins to leave the site. She gestures for me to follow behind her. Soon, we are walking side by side. We aren't talking at all, since I'm basically deaf. We get about halfway to the scheduled meeting place, when Rue decides to camp for the night. It takes a while for me to get it, but after she pulls out Katniss's sleeping bag, I finally understand. I nod to her. We both lay down and wait for the anthem to play before going to sleep. I suppose it does, because the faces of the boy from District 10 and the boy from 3 shine brightly in the sky. Guess the Careers turned on him. I fall asleep quickly.

No one attacks us during the night, and the morning is also uneventful. We eat a quick breakfast and resume our silent journey. I think my ears are a bit better, but it's hard to tell. I still can't hear anything that's said to me. We are almost there, and it's about midday. We've been taking it slow, since I can't hear, and we really feel no reason to rush. Katniss will wait.

Suddenly, Rue is scooped up off the ground. It takes my brain a second to realize what's happened, but by then it's too late. The net surrounding her has her completely tangled. A spear lodges itself in her stomach before I can even blink. I whirl around, looking for whoever threw that spear. They will die, to the Master Sword, right now. It's the boy from District 1. I roar at him so loudly, I can actually hear it. He is unarmed now, and my blade is through his heart before he has time to even realize I'm here too. I rush back to Rue. I hack the net off of her and look at the wound the spear has inflicted. A fairy could heal it. But there are no fairies here. I lean my head onto her heart and clutch her tiny little hand. The tears flow freely from my eyes, both the wolf's and mine. Suddenly, Katniss is there too. She says something to me, but Rue tells her something else, and Katniss quits talking to me. Katniss and Rue exchange some more words, but they are all lost on me. I continue to cry over Rue, but all too soon the life fades out of her eyes. Katniss pries me from the body and proceeds to decorate it with flowers. I help her out, and we complete the task silently. Katniss gives Rue the same sign the District 12 citizens gave her when she saved Prim, and I attempt to replicate it. Then, Katniss turns to leave, and I begin to follow her. We just kind of wander around, too melancholic to talk even if I wasn't deaf.


	17. Chapter 17

**Author's Disclaimer: I do not own the Legend of Zelda or The Hunger Games. I am earning no profit from this story other than the enjoyment of writing it and sharing it with others. I hope you all enjoy reading it! Feel free to let me know what you think by giving this chapter a review.**

Soon, it is nighttime. Rue is shown in the sky, as well as the boy from District 1. Katniss climbs up a tree to sleep, and I lay down beneath it. The wolf does not want to come out tonight. It feels unsafe without its hearing. The next morning, I can almost hear Katniss's words. They are jumbled up, and sound far away, but at least they register. Katniss shows me a loaf of bread she hadn't had before. I recognize it as bread from District 11. I am shocked they bothered to give Katniss, and me indirectly, bread. I cannot express my appreciation right now however, and so I just nod. Katniss begins to leave our makeshift camp, and I start to follow her. She pauses, and points at the floor. She wants me to stay here.

I shake my head.

She points at the floor again.

I shake my head again.

She visibly sighs, and points to my ears. Then stomps on the floor.

I get it. I'll be loud because I can't hear myself. I nod, albeit reluctantly.

The rest of the day is uneventful. Even the wolf is inactive. I sit around for a while. I sharpen the Master Sword for several hours, and then begin to draw in the dirt with the blade. I draw out my entire adventure. Admittedly, my drawing skills are terrible, but everything is there. Midna, Zelda, Ilia, Colin, the Gorons, the Zoras, the wolf, and myself. Then there is Zant and Ganondorf and all the dungeon bosses. I draw out all the bosses and Zant to appear dead. But Ganondorf, I draw over every one of my allies. He is a dark shadow over everything I love. And I am there too, far off in the side, a speck of dust in the cloud of darkness's plan. Easily cast aside.

When the hour of twilight is about over, something suddenly taps my shoulder. I am startled, and whirl around quickly, cursing silently that I still cannot hear. I hold up the Master Sword, but it is only Katniss. I drop the blade to my side, looking ashamed of myself. Katniss shakes her head, slightly amused, and begins setting up camp. I help her to the best of my ability. As we eat dinner, Katniss studies my drawings. She looks puzzled, and I can tell she would like to ask me questions. Unfortunately, that's just not possible right now. After dinner, we both head to bed, me on the ground and Katniss in a tree.

The next morning, I can actually hear again. Not the way I usually can, but probably how everyone else can. "Can you hear?" Katniss asks me.

"Yes," I reply. "But only about as well as you can."

"Well, actually," Katniss begins. "I can't hear at all out of my left ear."

"Why?" I ask.

"I'm not sure exactly why," Katniss replies, "but I suppose I was just too close to that sound."

I shrug. "Well hopefully by tomorrow I'll be able to hear for both of us again."

Katniss nods. "Oh, yeah. I meant to tell you this. There was a rule change last night."

"What?" I exclaim, "a rule change? I thought we had no rules."

"Me too. But the new rule is that if the tributes from a same District are the last two, or three in our case, then they all win!" Katniss explains.

"That's great for us!" I reply. "Is Peeta still alive though? I haven't been watching the sky lately, since I couldn't hear the anthem signaling the announcement."

"Peeta is alive," Katniss confirms. "Also, Glimmer, the girl from 1, and the girl from 4 are dead. Not sure how, but they are."

I nod. "So, there's...seven of us left."

"Correct," Katniss says. "But today, we're going to find Peeta."

"Sounds like an excellent plan," I say. And then we set off. Katniss believes Peeta is badly wounded, because she heard Cato say so at the Careers' camp. She's certain he'll be down by the stream, since that way he could easily move up and down it without making tracks by walking in the water.

We quickly arrive at the stream and begin walking on the banks of it. We walk along the stream for hours, with no sign of Peeta. I'm just about to suggest we turn back, when I notice a trail of blood. "There!" I whisper to Katniss. She nods, and we begin following it. We find more bloodstains, and one of them has fabric attached to it, but no Peeta.

"I bet the wolf could track him," I suggest. "We have his scent right here."

Katniss nods. "Go ahead."

I let the wolf out, who doesn't appreciate the cold water it's been thrown into. It sniffs the nearest bloodstain, picking up Peeta's scent, and begins following it. Katniss trails behind. We only get a few feet before the trail ends. The wolf intently sniffs part of the bank, because it has Peeta's scent all over it. And it's fresh. Suddenly, I realize that part of the bank is warmer than the rest. I have the wolf quit sniffing, and I can barely hear shallow breathing. A silly detail I wouldn't have missed if my hearing was at full capacity. I put the wolf away.

"No luck?" Katniss asks. Her voice cracks. She looks away from me.

"Tons of luck," I reply. "He's right here." I gently nudge that part of the bank with my toe, and Peeta's eyes open. Katniss laughs, and just stares at the blue eyes that appeared in the middle of the muddy bank.

"Let's get you cleaned up," Katniss suggests.

"Alright, sweetheart," Peeta agrees. I snicker but lean down to help Katniss push Peeta into the stream. Peeta can't move an inch by himself, so Katniss and I struggle to get him into the stream. We manage it, and Katniss begins removing Peeta's excellent camouflage. I just kind of stand and watch. Besides dishing out red potions, I'm no healer. Peeta looks to be in pretty bad shape. He's really badly bruised and has a long burn across his chest.

"You got anymore of that magical red stuff, Link?" Peeta asks. His voice is weak and raspy.

"No, I'm all out," I reply. "Sorry."

Peeta sighs. Katniss cleans out his wounds, but frowns when she puts a hand on his chest. She pulls out the first aid kit we salvaged from the boy from District 1 and gives Peeta a pill. "Here, eat this," she says. Peeta takes it without complaint. "You must be hungry."

"It's funny. Actually, I haven't been hungry for days," Peeta replies.

Katniss offers him some of our bird we caught the other day, but Peeta just looks grossed out. Katniss sighs. "We need to get some food in you."

"It'll just come right back up," Peeta argues.

Katniss eventually convinces Peeta to eat some dried apple. "Can I sleep now?" Peeta asks.

"Soon," Katniss promises. "I need to look at your leg first." I help her peel off his socks, shoes, and then pants. The gash is festering, oozing pus, and still bleeding. I notice Katniss recoil slightly.

"Is it bad?" Peeta asks. I'm sure he noticed Katniss's reaction as well.

"So-so," Katniss says with a fake shrug. "You should see some of the people brought into my mom's house." She begins dumping out water onto Peeta's leg to clean it. It just looks more and more revolting. She applies the leaves that Rue showed us, to draw out the infection. Soon, pus is running from his wound like crazy. The wolf is telling me to bolt, to ditch Peeta, that he'll never make it. But I stay, assisting in any way I can.

Katniss seems worse off than me. She looks like she'll be sick at any minute. Yet, she presses on, continuing to apply leaves to his leg.

"Katniss?" Peeta asks. "Is something wrong?"

"I'm...I'm no good at this. I'm not like my mother. I've no idea what to do," she admits. "And I hate pus!" She yelps as more pus makes its way out of Peeta's leg.

"How do you hunt?" Peeta asks innocently.

"Trust me, killing things is way easier than this. But for all I know, I'm killing you," Katniss mutters.

"Can you speed it up please?" Peeta jokes.

"No," Katniss growls. "Shut up and eat your pears." She shoves some dried pears into Peeta's hands. Katniss and I continue to apply the leaves and Peeta's leg continues to eject pus. Eventually, Peeta falls asleep.

"We need to move," Katniss whispers to me.

"I know, but Peeta needs to sleep," I object.

"I agree," Katniss sighs. "He's really sick. He's burning with a fever." I'm not sure what a fever is, but it sounds bad. We sit for a while, listening for any signs of an approaching enemy, but soon enough Katniss shakes Peeta awake.

"Come on," she whispers to him. "We need to go."

"Go?" he repeats. "Go where?"

"Away from here," Katniss says. "Somewhere you can stay while you recover."

Peeta nods. I hoist him onto my shoulders with some effort. It's hard, because Peeta is just as tall as me. "You got him?" Katniss asks.

"Yep," I grunt. I follow Katniss slowly downstream. I won't be able to carry Peeta very far, but I don't complain. Katniss notices me struggling, and heads into a small cave about twenty yards away from where we were originally. Katniss tucks Peeta into her sleeping bag, and we attempt to camouflage the entrance to the cave. Our first try is a failure, so Katniss rips it down.

"Katniss," Peeta groans. Katniss rushes over to him. She brushes the hair out of his eyes. "Thanks for finding me." I just stand in the corner awkwardly. After all, I'm not part of the star-crossed lovers thing. I'm just kind of here.

"You would have found me if you could," Katniss whispers gently.

"Listen, if I don't make it back," Peeta begins.

"No, you're fine," Katniss interrupts. "I didn't drain all that pus for nothing."

"I know, but still, if I don't," Peeta continues.

Katniss leans in and kisses Peeta, effectively silencing him. They remain that way for several seconds. I turn around, facing the other way.

"You're not going to die," Katniss promises. "I forbid it."

"Alright," Peeta agrees.

Suddenly, a parachute floats down right in front of me. I pick it up. "Hey guys!" I call. "Not to interrupt or anything but look what we got!" I show off our parachute. Katniss grabs it from me, a smile forming on her lips. It dissipates when she sees the contents. A pot of broth. Nonetheless, she tries to get Peeta to drink it. It takes over an hour of Katniss coaxing and kissing to get Peeta to drink the broth. She then allows him to sleep.

"I'll keep watch," I volunteer. "I don't need a lot of sleep." Katniss seems too tired to argue, so she just climbs into the sleeping bag with Peeta and closes her eyes. I smile to myself and let the wolf out. It is hungry, and I let it nibble on a little of Katniss's bird. The night is uneventful. No one died today.


	18. Chapter 18

**Author's Disclaimer: I do not own the Legend of Zelda or The Hunger Games. I am earning no profit from this story other than the enjoyment of writing it and sharing it with others. I hope you all enjoy reading it! Feel free to let me know what you think by giving this chapter a review.**

By the time dawn is beginning, my hearing is completely repaired. Katniss wakes up early and tells me she's going gathering.

By the time the sun is up, Peeta is awake. He squeals when he sees the wolf, but quickly remembers it's me. Then he notices Katniss is gone. "Where's Katniss?" he asks.

I put the wolf inside and stand up. "Went to grab some food for us."

"Is she okay?" Peeta asks. He sounds worried.

"I'm sure she's fine," I say with a shrug. "She can handle herself." As if on cue, Katniss reenters our little hiding place.

"I was worried about you," Peeta says to her.

"I just went and got some berries," Katniss says.

"I was afraid Cato and Clove got you," Peeta continues. "They like to hunt at night."

"Clove?" I repeat.

"The girl from 2," Peeta explains. "She's still alive right?"

"Yeah," Katniss confirms.

Peeta frowns. "You didn't sleep," he says to Katniss.

"I told her to," I say, "I kept watch all night."

"I was worried about you," Katniss objects. She strokes Peeta's cheek. All this romance stuff is making me sick.

"Sleep, Katniss," Peeta says. "Link and I can keep watch." I nod in agreement.

"You have to eat," Katniss argues.

"I'll feed him," I promise. "Just get some rest."

Katniss looks hesitant. "No one can stay awake forever," Peeta continues. Katniss sighs, and lays down. She closes her eyes, and Peeta caresses her hair. I wait until I'm sure Katniss is asleep.

"Alright, man," I say. "We need to feed you."

"I'm not hungry," Peeta whines.

"That's too bad," I say, "Cause you're eating."

Peeta continues to argue. "Do you want me to kiss you?" I tease, "because that's not happening." Peeta laughs, and I'm able to get a decent amount of food and water into him. We sit in silence for a while, both staring intently at our cave entrance.

"Link," Peeta says.

I turn to face him. "What's up?"

"What's it like, being a wolf?" he asks. He looks genuinely curious.

"Well," I'm not sure how to explain. "It's like, the wolf lives inside me. It is always trying to get out, even when I'm in human form. I always have to be resisting it, resisting the pull of letting it out. I can always tell how it feels, just as it knows how I feel. Most of the time, we disagree about stuff. For example, it's been telling me all day to leave you."

"But you didn't listen," Peeta finishes for me.

"Of course not," I scoff. "I'm still here, am I not?"

Peeta shrugs. "Was it always like that?"

I laugh. "Oh, for the goddess' sake! Of course not!"

"When did it start?" Peeta questions.

"When…" I trail off. How much can I tell him? "When I found this." I put on my gloves and pull out the Twilight crystal. Peeta stares at it in awe.

"You just found this?" he repeats. "Where?"

"On the ground," I lie. Very convincing.

Peeta reaches out to touch it. I pull it away. "Don't touch it," I snap.

"Why?" Peeta asks. "Why can't I use it?"

"Because it won't turn you into a wolf," I reply. "Plus, even if it did, do you want to always be resisting your wolf?"

Peeta hesitates. "Why won't it turn me into a wolf?" he asks finally.

"Because this crystal is evil magic," I say. "Or at least I think." I correct myself quickly. "And it would turn normal people into a spirit."

"You're not normal?" Peeta questions.

I shake my head, and hold out my left hand, showing off the Triforce mark. "This is the Triforce of Courage. It kind of repels evil magic, I guess?"

"How come you have it?" Peeta asks. He seems very confused, and very, very overwhelmed.

I'm saved from having to answer by Katniss. She sits up groggily, but her eyes widen when she notices the sun's position in the sky. "Guys," she whines, "you were supposed to wake me up in a few hours."

"Why?" Peeta argues. He seems to have forgotten our previous conversation. Or is choosing not to think about it. "Nothing exciting was happening."

Katniss sighs, but looks pleased that I got Peeta to eat and drink. She gives him more pills for his mysterious fever, tends more to his burn, and then tentatively removes the bandage around his leg. It looks even worse. The pus is gone, and it's not bleeding, but the swelling has gone up. Red streaks have begun making their way up his leg.

"Well, there's more swelling," Katniss announces. "But the pus is gone." Her face is completely devoid of emotion.

"I know what blood poisoning is," Peeta says gently. I assume those are the strange red streaks, since I know what everything else is. "Even if my mother's not a healer."

Katniss sighs. "You'll just have to outlast everyone else, Peeta," she says. "They'll treat you once we're back in the Capitol." Clearly this blood poisoning thing is fatal. But I shouldn't be surprised. It does have the word 'poison' in it.

"Yes, that's a good plan," Peeta sighs. He looks miserable.

"You have to eat. Keep your strength up. I'm going to make soup," Katniss decides.

"I'll go," I object. Katniss begins to argue, but I raise my hand to stop her. "You stay here, watch Peeta, and I'll give you two some private time." I say this last part with a wink. Peeta smiles, as if he truly wants that, and Katniss relents.

I grab our pot, and head down to the stream. It is incredibly hot. So hot, that I am able to get a pot to boil by just putting hot rocks into the pot. I purify the water and put every edible thing I can find in Katniss's bag in there. Hopefully, my soup is not repulsive. I can cook just fine, I've been living alone for years, but I've never worked with these ingredients. I'm used to things like the hawk grass and goat meat. Not this bird and all these nuts and roots. I let my concoction boil for a while, then pick the entire thing up and lug it back to camp.

When I enter the cave, Peeta and Katniss are in the middle of a nice, long kiss. Should I wait for them to finish before entering? Nah. "Am I interrupting something?" I ask, snickering as I enter the cave.

They both abruptly pull apart. "Oh, get out of here, Link," Peeta laughs. Katniss rolls her eyes.

"Okay, but in all seriousness, I have lunch ready," I say, showing them the pot. I put it on the floor and take off the lid. I sip some of my soup, and it's not bad. Doesn't taste like much really. Katniss spoons soup to Peeta, who reluctantly eats it. We sit for a while, eating, Katniss and Peeta staring lovingly into each other's eyes. Me just sitting here awkwardly. Eventually the soup gets cold and it's no longer worth eating.

"Do you want anything?" Katniss asks Peeta. She puts cool clothes onto his forehead.

"No, thank you," he replies with a smile. "Wait. Yes. Tell me a story."

"A story?" Katniss repeats.

"A happy story. Of the happiest day of your life," Peeta encourages.

Katniss considers the request. "Did I ever tell you how I got Prim's goat?" she asks finally.

Peeta shakes his head.

"Well, I had wanted to buy Prim a present," Katniss begins. "But I couldn't afford anything like that, so I went ahead and sold one of mother's silver lockets. With her permission, of course. My friend Gale and I went to the dress shop to look for materials, but while we were looking, I noticed something. You know the Goat Man, right? Old guy, sells goats?"

Peeta nods.

"Yeah, well, he had a goat lying in a cart," Katniss continues. "It had been mauled by something, and the wounds were infected. I knew that Prim could fix it, though. I told Gale I wanted that goat for Prim. So, we went to look at her, but the Goat Man told us that the butcher was coming soon. Sure enough, the butcher soon arrived, but she wouldn't take the goat. The Goat Man got mad, but the butcher insisted that they had a deal on a goat with a few teeth marks, not this nasty thing. So, she left in a hurry. The Goat Man and I negotiated for half an hour on the price. By the time we finished, quite a crowd had gathered to watch us barter. They gave their opinions on every price that was thrown out. Gale offered to carry the goat after it was sold, probably because he wanted to see the look on Prim's face just as much as I did. On the way home, I bought a pink ribbon and tied it around the goat's neck. When we got home, Prim was so happy. She started laughing and crying all at once! Mother wasn't so sure, but they set to work on it anyway."

"They sound like you," Peeta says.

"Oh no!" Katniss laughs. "That thing couldn't have died if it tried!" She then bit her tongue.

"Don't worry," Peeta says, "I'm not trying. Finish the story."

"Well, that's about it," Katniss says. "I only remember that the first night, Prim insisted on sleeping with the goat, who we named Lady. And before Prim went to bed, Lady gave her a lick on the forehead."

"Was it still wearing the pink ribbon?" Peeta asks.

"I think so," Katniss replies. "Why?"

"Just trying to get a picture," Peeta sighs. I sit in silence. It is very clear, I shouldn't be here right now. It's not my place to say anything.

Suddenly, the trumpets blare. Katniss jumps to her feet and races towards the entryway. I cock my head, listening to whatever Claudius Templesmith has to say. He is inviting us to a feast. I look to Katniss to see if we're going, but she's shaking her head. "Now, hold on a second," Claudius continues. "I know some of you are already declining my invitation. However, each of you needs something badly." We really need medicine for Peeta. "Each of you can find whatever you need in a bag marked with where you're from. The feast begins at the Cornucopia at dawn." Katniss is frozen. I can tell she wants more than anything to go.

"No," Peeta says, "you're not risking your life for me."

"Who said I was?" Katniss exclaims.

"So, you're not going?" Peeta concludes.

"Of course, I'm not going!" Katniss agrees. "Why would I run into a free-for-all against Cato, Thresh, and Clove? We'll just stay here, see who's in the sky tomorrow, and go from there."

"You're not going," I say, "because I am."

"No, you're not!" Peeta and Katniss cry in unison.

"Look," I growl. "Tomorrow at dawn, one of the three of us will risk our lives. Peeta, if no one goes, your risking your life by not getting medicine. Katniss, if you go, your risking your life. If I go, I'm risking mine. So now let's look at who risks the least. Peeta. If no one goes, you will most certainly die. No offense or anything. Katniss, your favorite weapon is the bow, a long-ranged weapon. You will need to run right into a close combat situation in order to get the medicine. And now me. My weapon of choice is a sword and shield, perfect for close combat. Also, if I need to make a quick getaway, what could possibly be faster than a wolf?"

Katniss huffs. "Why do you have to be so logical all of a sudden?"

"Come on," I say, practically begging. It's been so long since I've had a proper adventure. "I've already beaten Cato and Clove at the same time, plus four others, with no help."

"Okay, fine," Katniss growls. "But if you die…"

"You two go on and win in District 12's honor," I finish for her.

"Deal," Katniss replies reluctantly. "But at least eat before you go. There's still soup left."

"Alright," I agree. I have a decent serving of soup before exiting our little hideout. The cool night air is invigorating after the stuffy air of our cave. I let the wolf out and allow it to sniff everything it wants. All of our senses are on high alert, in case of an attack.


	19. Chapter 19

**Author's Disclaimer: I do not own the Legend of Zelda or The Hunger Games. I am earning no profit from this story other than the enjoyment of writing it and sharing it with others. I hope you all enjoy reading it! Feel free to let me know what you think by giving this chapter a review.**

Despite mine and the wolf's caution, we make it to the Cornucopia without problem. The sun is about to come up. The feast will begin soon. I put the wolf away, and search for the feast. We must have taken a very long time to get here. It's not like I was in any hurry, but still. We took all night. And yet, looking out towards the Cornucopia, I see nothing of interest.

I stay dead still for several minutes, but the time drags by and it feels like an eternity. Finally, the front part of the Cornucopia splits open, and a table laden with bags rises into the arena. There are bags of all size. I can make out ones with 2, 11, 5, and 12. But there is one more. I have to squint to read the fine writing, because clearly it isn't numbers. I barely stop myself from yelping when I read the final bag's tag.

In fine, Capitol writing, it reads, Hyrule. For me. I need that bag, but I also need the one with a twelve on it. The table clicks into place, and the girl from 5, Foxface Katniss calls her, dashes towards the table, grabs hers, and scurries off. I must be next. Certainly, I can run faster than anyone else. I sprint as fast as I can towards the table. I can hear the knife flying towards me. I easily block it with my shield. More come, but they are all blocked as well. I don't dare look to see who's throwing them. I'm at the table now, but whoever threw the knives is now fast approaching. I grab District 12's bag, then mine, and whirl around to face my opponent. It's Clove. She snarls as she approaches, and I quickly unsheathe the Master Sword.

"You think you can take me alone?" I tease. "After I beat you, Cato, and four other tributes? Such arrogance." She hesitates. "Would you like to see my spin attack again?" I continue, a smug smile on my face.

Then I hear it, from behind me. Someone else rushing towards me. It's not Cato. Even his footsteps weren't this heavy. I turn and run. I risk a glance behind me and see Clove and Thresh tangled up in a nasty fight. As soon as I'm within the cover the trees provide, I let the wolf out, and it runs as fast as it can.

In about two hours, I'm back at the cave. I quickly make sure no one else is around before clambering inside. I put the wolf away and hold out District 12's bag. Katniss grabs it from me, rips it open, and pulls out a needle. She stabs an unconscious and pale Peeta with it forcefully. I'm not sure how that's medicine, but okay. I really want to open my bag, but I don't want to explain it to Katniss. I keep it tucked away in my inventory bag. We sit for a while, Katniss intently watching Peeta, me staring out the exit. Someone has to keep watch.

Several hours later, Peeta wakes up. He looks less pale, and much more alert. Katniss cries out in happiness as he slowly opens his eyes. "How do you feel?" she asks.

"Much better," he replies, staring into her eyes fondly. "Is Link back yet?" His eyes flick towards the cave entryway. He notices me. "Oh! I assume I've already had the medicine?"

"Correct," I affirm.

"You had no trouble?" Peeta asks.

"No trouble," I say. "Clove threw a few knives and charged me. I teased her a bit, kept her waiting, then bolted when Thresh showed up. I left and Clove and Thresh got caught in a fight."

"Thanks for doing that for me," Peeta says. He genuinely means it.

"No problem, man" I reply. Katniss then proceeds to inspect every single inch of Peeta's skin, checking to see how much he's healed. I pull my bag out, hoping to open it while they are both occupied. I open it, but the Velcro opening creates a really loud sound.

"What's that?" Katniss asks, noticing the bag in my hands. I still haven't looked inside yet. It's just sitting in my lap, open.

"It's for me," I say, showing her the label. I expect it to mean nothing to her. The Triforce meant nothing, the Master Sword meant nothing, so Hyrule should mean nothing right? Wrong.

She gasps. "Hyrule?" she reads. She sounds afraid. "Why is it marked Hyrule? Why does that make it for you?"

"What's wrong with Hyrule?" I ask defensively, almost forgetting she shouldn't know anything about it.

"Hyrule was," Katniss begins hesitantly. I can tell she is carefully choosing her words. "The name of the country that was located here before the Capitol took it over."

"What?" I say. That's insane. She's implying that Ganondorf didn't send me to a new world. He sent me forward in time. Which means that, without a doubt, Colin, Ilia, Epona, Zelda, Rusl, and all the other people I care about are most certainly dead.

"What did you think it meant?" Katniss asks. Her eyes are wide with fear, and she is trembling.

"My dad used to call me that," I lie. "I didn't know why."

"You're lying," Katniss growls. "What did it mean to you?"

"I'm not lying," I insist.

"Yes, you are," she snarls. "Tell me what it means!" Her knife is out in an instant. I'm not afraid, but I don't want to fight her. Peeta looks shocked by Katniss's aggression, but doesn't say anything.

"Okay, I'll tell you!" I relent. "I'm not from District 12, or any other District, or even the Capitol." Katniss's face has become stony. I can't tell what she's thinking. But she doesn't interrupt so I continue. "I'm from Hyrule. I was...supposed to save it. I was...supposed to be a hero." I look away from her. If she stabs me, so be it. I've failed all of Hyrule, and now look what it has become. Tears slide down my face, glistening in the moonlight. I continue with my explanation. "But I failed. I wasn't strong enough. And I was sent here. I assumed I was in an entirely different world, but apparently, I was only sent forward in time. And now I get to see what my failure has cost everyone."

I hear Katniss's blade drop from her hand. The sharp sound of metal clinking against the stone floor. I hear her breathing deeply, as if trying to calm herself. "So, you're the hero?" she says finally.

"The hero?" I repeat sarcastically. "No. I'm a failure."

"There is a legend," Katniss explains. "Telling of a hero who tried to stop the Capitol's takeover. Back then the Capitol was known as a man named Ganondorf. The legend says Ganondorf operated behind another man named Zant. Zant took over all of Hyrule, and they were both certain they had won."

"The Twilight Invasion," I say, remembering the day Ilia and Colin were taken. The day my never-ending resistance against the wolf began.

Katniss nods numbly. "But then, they noticed that someone was taking their land back. Slowly, but surely. Upon further inspection, they realized it was a hero known simply as Link. The hero reclaimed all of Hyrule, but Zant would have none of it. So Zant confronted the hero, stole the weapon the hero was going to use to fight him, and cast a terrible curse on the hero. But the hero still didn't give up. He somehow broke the curse, but the legend has forgotten how, and finally confronted Zant. After destroying Zant, the hero fought against Ganondorf, and died a slow painful death. The people of Hyrule staged a rebellion, so inspired by their persistent hero. But Ganondorf, now known as the Capitol, crushed this uprising. He annihilated the Gorons and Zoras, who we now know as District 13, and beat down the Hylians. They were subdued and forced into one of twelve districts. All signs and memories of magic were destroyed, except for this legend. The Capitol allowed the Districts to keep this legend, as yet another reminder of our failures," Katniss finishes. Her voice is a complete monotone, as if she is reciting something she was required to memorize. Her glazed eyes clear up, and she looks directly at me. "But that's not all true is it, hero?" she asks me. I lift my eyes up to meet hers. "Tell me what's true, Link. Tell me what really happened."

I take a deep breath. The Triforce of Courage is working hard to keep me from being scared, and my hand is glowing brightly. I don't even bother to hide it. "Well, I lived in the southernmost village of Hyrule known as Ordon. We didn't have much, just a ranch with goats, a few pumpkin farms, and a decent dozen of houses. But we were all happy. I lived by myself and never knew my parents. For years I worked on the ranch with my loyal horse, Epona. And that was all I did. Day in, day out, herding goats. But one day, the mayor of the village, Bo, asked me to personally deliver a package to Hyrule Castle. I had never been outside of our village, except for a few little excursions into the woods with the other village children. But later that day, when I was hanging out with my best friend Ilia and a little boy named Colin, monsters came out of nowhere. They captured Ilia, Colin, Epona, and the other village kids Beth, Malo, and Talo. I was knocked out.

As soon as I came to, I rushed to the bridge that lead into the woods, only to be met by a huge, black wall. I was dragged through the wall by some other monster, and quickly knocked out because it grabbed my neck. When I woke up, I was in Hyrule Castle's dungeons. It was my first time with the wolf out, so I was more than a little surprised. A little imp by the name of Midna helped me escape. We quickly made a deal to work together, and she led me to meet the princess of Hyrule herself, Princess Zelda. Zelda told us that Zant, the self-acclaimed ruler of the Twilight Realm, had taken over Hyrule. All of Hyrule was now covered in Twilight, reducing all the citizens to their puny spirit form, except me because of my Triforce of Courage, and Zelda because she possessed the Triforce of Wisdom. Midna and I set out at once to restore Hyrule to its previous state. Long story short, we banished the Twilight and restored Hyrule, as planned. We also picked up the Fused Shadows, an incredibly powerful artifact, rivaled only by the power of the Master Sword, the Triforce, and Majora's Mask, some other evil artifact the Hero of Time beat thousands and thousands of years ago or whatever. Anyway, with the Fused Shadows, Midna assured me I was ready to face Zant.

Zant did confront me, but he stole the Fused Shadows, cursed me to always remain with the wolf out, and fatally injured Midna. By now, Midna and I had become pretty good friends. She is the reason for my remarkable sarcasm. So, I rushed back to Hyrule Castle believing Zelda could save my new best friend. I reached Zelda, and she bestowed her own spirit on Midna, or at least that's what she told me. All I saw at the time was Midna getting healed and Zelda disappearing in a shower of sparkles. Right before she faded away, Zelda told me that the only way to break the curse on me was to find the Master Sword, also known as the Blade of Evil's Bane. Pretty self-explanatory name. So anyway, I made my way to this fabled sword, and it accepted me as its master. Now, I am the only one who can wield it. As promised, the curse was broken, and the stone I've shown you both flew out of my forehead. Midna decided to keep it, because now that we had the Master Sword, I could let the wolf out at will. She also told me that the only way to beat Zant was to find him in the Twilight Realm where he lived. To get there, we needed to head to the Gerudo Desert, where a portal to the Twilight Realm was located, known as the Mirror of Twilight. So, we went there, and along the way Midna revealed to me that she was a member of Zant's forces, but that she disapproved of his rule. So, she was basically a rebel.

Finally, we found the Mirror of Twilight, only to discover it had been fractured it into four pieces. The sages who were supposed to watch the Mirror appeared before us and informed us that Zant had broken it. They also told us that Zant got all his power from a man named Ganondorf. Long ago, in the era of the Hero of Time, Ganondorf had been accused of a terrible crime. He was put on trial and found guilty and was to be executed. However, Ganondorf possessed the final piece of the Triforce; the Triforce of Power. With the extra power from it, he survived the execution, and killed the Water sage. Panicked, the other sages sent Ganondorf into the Twilight Realm, where he found Zant. The sages also told us that Zant had been unable to shatter the mirror as planned, because he was not the true leader of the Twilight Realm. He could only fracture it, so he scattered the four fragments across Hyrule.

Well now Midna and I had to go find the fragments. Once that was done, we headed to the Twilight Realm, and confronted Zant. Zant told us that he had tried to become the Twili's ruler but had been passed over in favor of Midna. That means Midna was the Twilight Princess. So anyway, after being rejected, Zant was really mad. He threw a fit, and there he met Ganondorf. Ganondorf told him he was a god and gave Zant just a taste of his power. With this new power, Zant turned Midna into an imp, and crowned himself the King of Twilight. Then, revelation over, he and I fought a hard battle. I beat him, but Zant just laughed. He told me that as long as his 'god' is still alive, he can always be resurrected. Midna then kills him herself. She reclaims the Fused Shadows, and we headed to Hyrule Castle to fight Ganondorf.

We arrived at the throne room and were met by Ganondorf himself sitting on the throne. Suspended above him was the lifeless body of Princess Zelda. Ganondorf possessed Zelda, and I'm forced to battle her. I beat her easily enough, and Midna uses the Fused Shadows to break Ganondorf's possession, healing Zelda in the process. Ganondorf is really mad at this point. He takes on his own bestial form, literally, a giant, scary boar. I fight him again. Somehow, the stupid guy refused to die. He took on yet another form, but Midna insisted on fighting him alone, with the full power of the Fused Shadows." I stop to take a deep breath. Tears spring into my eyes. I don't care if the Capitol hears this whole story. But I sure hope all of Panem does. "She...she...teleported Zelda and I out of the castle. We turned around to look at the castle, but it was completely destroyed. Ganondorf appeared on his black horse directly in front of us, holding up Midna's helmet. He crushed it with his bare hands." I am balling now. Retelling Midna's death was harder than anything else I've ever done before.

"He charged us, along with these strange phantom riders he created. Luckily for Zelda and me, Epona had just made her way to us. We quickly mounted her and fought Ganondorf on horseback. I beat him again. He challenged me to a final duel, sword on sword. I was so close to killing him. One more blow, that's all that was needed. But he dodged it and opened a portal behind me. I couldn't resist its pull. I tried so hard, so very hard. I was sprinting as fast as I could, but not getting anywhere. Still, I took one last swing at Ganondorf, leaving myself exposed. He stabbed me, draining all the strength I had left. I fell down into the portal, almost immediately becoming unconscious," I finish. Katniss and Peeta are just staring at me in awe. I can't bear to look at them. Look at all the pain I've caused to them, their families, everyone, by just not being strong enough.

"I'm so sorry," Peeta says.

I shrug. "No big deal." But it is a big deal.

"What's in the bag?" Katniss asks. Clearly, she doesn't like emotional moments.

"I didn't get a chance to look," I reply. "Since you ever so rudely interrupted me opening it." I force a smile.

"Open it," Peeta says. I nod and plunge my hands into the large bag. It was the biggest of the bunch. I can't even imagine what could be in it. My fingers curl around cold, metal. I pull out the object, but it isn't very big. Surely, there's more stuff in the bag. I gasp as I pull out the item.

"What is it?" Katniss asks nervously.

"The Ocarina of Time," I breathe. My hand is actually steaming, the Triforce of Courage is working so hard. "It is a legendary treasure kept by the Royal Family of Hyrule. The Hero of Time used it to open the Door of Time and retrieve the Master Sword. It is incredibly powerful. Unfortunately, I don't know any songs besides Epona's Song, so it won't be of much help to us."

"Why would the Gamemakers give it to you?" Katniss asks.

"I don't know," I sigh. "Maybe just to tease me. The Hero of Time was successful, and I wasn't. Obviously the Gamemakers know this."

"Anything else in there?" Peeta asks.

I put my hand back in the bag, and this time I feel cold stone. It feels cold in a literal sense, but also unwelcoming, perhaps even evil. I pull out a piece of the Fused Shadows. Now I'm just enraged. I dig through the rest of the bag, pulling out each piece of the artifact that caused Midna's death. I throw the Fused Shadows onto the floor.

"What is that, Link?" Peeta asks gently.

"The Fused Shadows," I growl. I look up at the ceiling. I wish more than anything that I could scream in peace at the Gamemakers, at the Capitol, at Ganondorf, but I know that will bring nothing but certain death. "But they didn't bother to even give us the whole thing. Midna's helmet is missing, making this thing pointless as well!"

"Link, calm down," Katniss pleads. I look into her eyes. She recoils slightly. Midna told me once that my eyes look like a beast's when I'm mad. She must have not been kidding. I force myself to take deep breaths. We sit like this for several minutes, me breathing deeply and showing off my canid teeth, while Peeta holds Katniss gently, staring at me like the monster I am.

I lower my gaze to the floor. I can't bear to look at them. "I'm sorry, guys," I say. "I just got really mad. I can't believe that everything I fought for is...gone." I look back towards the entrance of our cave. It has begun to rain. Really funny Gamemakers. Really funny.

"It's alright," Peeta says. "I can't imagine what that's like."

I fake a laugh. "I can't believe you don't think I'm crazy."

Peeta shrugs. "Even if you are, sometimes it's nice to believe in a hero."

"Even a failed one?" I ask, daring to look in his eyes, searching the depths inside them for something to give me hope. I want to see his eyes light up the way they do when he says things to Katniss, because then he means every word he says. I don't want him to just say what I need to hear. I want him to mean it.

"Even a failed one," Peeta confirms, and his eyes do light up. He does mean it.

I smile and turn back towards the entrance of the cave. We sit in silence for hours. Katniss and Peeta don't know what to say, and I don't want to talk. I stare out at the forest beyond our safe haven, watching the rain fall. It keeps getting worse and worse, until it becomes a total downpour. Everything outside is soaking wet, thoroughly saturated in rainwater. I stick my left hand out in the rain to cool it down after the Triforce nearly burning it up.

Sometimes I wonder what fear feels like. When I was younger, before I had the Triforce, I never had a reason to be afraid. I lived in Ordon, worked on the ranch, played with the other children, and that's about it. Nothing to be scared of. But now, with all these crazy things happening, I can't help but wonder what it actually feels like to be afraid. I bet it feels like the ache of sadness mixed with the sharp pang of anger.

I pull my left hand out of the downpour, watching the remaining drops of water make their way down my fingers, and onto the floor.

"Let's eat," Peeta says finally. "I'm hungry."

I nod. "Me too." I grab the bag of food and divvy it up evenly. We're running low. We'll only have enough for about one more day. The anthem begins playing as we eat, and I notice Clove is in the sky tonight. We head to bed early. All of us are exhausted from our crazy day of revelations.


	20. Chapter 20

**Author's Disclaimer: I do not own the Legend of Zelda or The Hunger Games. I am earning no profit from this story other than the enjoyment of writing it and sharing it with others. I hope you all enjoy reading it! Feel free to let me know what you think by giving this chapter a review.**

The next day is boring. It's still raining. I spend the whole day keeping watch while Peeta and Katniss make out with each other. We eat up all our food, and then head to bed. Hopefully, it will stop raining tomorrow.

No such luck. The next morning, it's still pouring, perhaps even more so. We're out of food. "I can go hunting," I volunteer. "The wolf doesn't mind the rain."

"No, just wait," Katniss insists. "It'll let up soon."

"Alright, if you say so," I shrug. I sit back down at my post near the cave entrance. Anytime Katniss and Peeta get too mushy, I start sharpening the Master Sword just to remind them I'm there. Then they shut up. We played this silly game for hours, before the grumbling in my stomach was too much.

I sheath my sword and stand up. Katniss and Peeta are curled up in the sleeping bag together, but they are not asleep. "I'm hunting," I say. It isn't up for discussion. I get up, let the wolf, out, and walk into the downpour. I hear Katniss call my name, but I know she won't dare follow me through this storm. I must find something for us to eat, but I hadn't realized how hard it would be. Even the wolf can't see a few feet in front of itself, it can't hear anything but rain, and can't smell anything except wet grass. Even so, I force the wolf to hunt for at least an hour, and I would've stayed longer, but we've gotten so cold we'll freeze, so I let it run back towards our little cave.

By the time we arrive, the wolf can make out a smell of food. I'm certain we're both just delirious, but when I enter the cave, a whole feast is waiting for me. Katniss and Peeta are sitting around a load of rolls, cheese, apples, and lamb stew. I can barely keep the starved wolf from charging at my allies and eating every single piece of food there. I kind of want to do that myself, but Katniss and Peeta probably wouldn't appreciate that.

I forcibly shove the wolf back inside. I head over to the seat that they left for me, and they begin to dig in. "So, let me get this straight," I say, allowing a smile to creep onto my lips. "I went out into the pouring, freezing rain, got completely saturated with rainwater, and you guys are just sitting here with food?"

Peeta laughs at my sarcasm. "It just got here! We were waiting for you!"

I shrug. "Honestly, I'm too hungry to be mad. Maybe later though."

Peeta snickers. I take my fair share of food and begin to plow right through it. I'm done in about thirty seconds, since Katniss and Peeta had taken such small servings. Katniss finishes up quickly as well, and just stares at the feast before us.

"I want more," she says simply.

"We wait one hour, and if it stays down, we get more," Peeta decides.

"That's going to be one long hour," Katniss sighs.

"Maybe not," Peeta objects. "What was that you were saying earlier? Me...no competition...best thing that ever happened to you?"

"I didn't say that last part," Katniss retorts.

"Oh right," Peeta says smugly. "That's what I was thinking." Katniss shakes her head in annoyance, but I can see a ghost of a smile hanging around her mouth. I take out the Master Sword again. I am no longer interested in sharpening it, so I use the enchanted blade as an oversized pencil. I begin to draw. Peeta watches in interest, but Katniss stares past me and into the rain outside. I draw my whole adventure again, with Midna, Ilia, Colin, and everybody else. But this time, I don't draw my dead body. I draw a separate picture, with my current adventure. Peeta, Katniss, even Haymitch is in it. Along with me, the failed hero. Ganondorf isn't in my drawing. When I am finished, I set down my sword with a sigh. Sometimes, it's nice to pretend everything I cared about isn't destroyed. Nice to pretend that I didn't fail the world.

"What is that?" Peeta asks.

"Nothing," I sigh, and turn to look out the cave exit.

"No, really," Peeta insists. "What is it?"

"It's...my friends. From both of my lives, I guess. From Hyrule and Panem," I explain reluctantly.

"Which one am I?" Peeta asks.

"This one," I say, pointing towards one of the figures. Peeta busts up laughing, but I don't think it's funny. I stare at the outside world, wondering if the Gamemakers are just trying to drown us all.

Peeta quits laughing. "Are you alright, Link?" he asks.

"Yeah, fine," I lie. Tears cloud up my vision, but I don't let him see them.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know you cared," Peeta says. He sounds perplexed.

"I don't care about the drawing," I say quietly. My voice cracks. "I...I... wish I still had someone I love. You know, the way you and Katniss are." Katniss perks up at this comment. "I wish I still had someone who loved me more than life itself. Anyone who ever bothered loving me is now dead, has been dead for thousands of years."

"I'm so sorry," Peeta says gently, but he stays right next to Katniss. She nods to me. I stare back outside. The weather is exactly how I feel inside. Raining. No, pouring. Everything washed away. Everything gone forever. The anthem begins to play. Peeta looks outside, but I just stare at the floor.

"Guys," Peeta says. I ignore him. Katniss is busy helping herself to more food.

"Guys," Peeta repeats. He receives no reply.

"Guys, Thresh is dead," Peeta huffs.

My eyes widen. "What?" Katniss cries. We both stick glance at the sky. Thresh's distorted image is there, sure enough.

"How?" Katniss exclaims.

"I don't know," Peeta sighs.

Katniss shakes her head in disbelief, and we head to bed.


	21. Chapter 21

**Author's Disclaimer: I do not own the Legend of Zelda or The Hunger Games. I am earning no profit from this story other than the enjoyment of writing it and sharing it with others. I hope you all enjoy reading it! Feel free to let me know what you think by giving this chapter a review.**

The next morning is fairly standard at this point. We all wake up, eat a little breakfast, Katniss and Peeta make out, I keep watch. But then, several hours later, the rain stops. When I say stops, I mean stops. Like it was dumping buckets one second, and the next, the rain is gone. Not worrying about how that shouldn't be possible, I turn towards Peeta and Katniss. They have fallen asleep. Lazy heads. I rush over to Peeta and shake his shoulder violently.

"It stopped raining," I say, pointing at the cave exit. He smiles, and wakes Katniss up much more gently. And by that, I mean he kissed her. Gross.

"We're wasting hunting time," she whines, extricating herself from Peeta's grasp.

"I wouldn't call it wasting," Peeta retorts.

"I would," I interrupt. They pull apart abruptly.

"So, do we hunt with an empty stomach to give us an edge?" Peeta asks awkwardly.

"Not us," Katniss objects. "We stuff ourselves to give us staying power." She evenly divides the remaining amount of food between the three of us, and we proceed to eat all of it. It tastes so good! When we're all finished, we pack up, and head out. Katniss and I are experts at walking silently, but Peeta...not so much. He is so loud, I'm sure Cato and Foxface know exactly where we are. But forget that, so do all the animals in the arena! Katniss is clearly agitated, barely able to keep a grimace off her face. She even has us all remove our shoes, which I stuff into my bag. Peeta is still remarkably loud. I had no idea one person could be so loud.

Finally, Peeta gives it up. "Katniss, we need to split up. I know I'm chasing away the game."

"Only because of your leg," Katniss replies. Yeah, sure. Let's go with that.

"I know," he sighs, and I almost laugh. "Why don't you show me how to dig roots, then go hunt? That way we'll all be useful."

"Not if Cato comes and kills you," Katniss scoffs.

Peeta laughs. "Look, I can handle Cato. I fought him before, right?" I just barely stifle a snicker. That fight went really well, didn't it Peeta? He almost killed you!

"What if you climbed up in a tree and kept lookout while we hunt?" Katniss suggests.

"What if you just show me what's edible around here and then go hunt?" Peeta retorts, mocking Katniss's voice.

Katniss sighs and gives in. She shows Peeta how to dig for roots, and then teaches him a short whistle like Rue's. We're supposed to use it to tell the other we're okay. After that's settled, Katniss and I head into the woods. We split up, to cover more ground, but we're both very careful to stay near Peeta. I go maybe forty yards away at the most, very often using the whistle. Soon enough, I've caught a few rabbits. I prepare to head back and give the signal one last time. I hear Katniss's response, but Peeta doesn't whistle back. My adrenaline kicks in, and I rush through the forest, forgetting about silence completely. I arrive back near the stream Peeta should be, and he's not there. Katniss bursts through the bushes a second later, and we both frantically look for him.

"Peeta!" Katniss calls. I hear bushes rustle, and unsheathe the Master Sword as Katniss nocks an arrow. Peeta emerges from the brush, and Katniss almost shoots him. She just barely moves the bow about an inch to the left, sending the arrow whistling right past him. She breathes a deep sigh of relief, then turns on Peeta.

"What were you doing?" she screams. "You were supposed to be here, not in the woods!"

"I found some berries down by the stream," Peeta argues. He is completely puzzled.

"Link whistled!" Katniss continues. "Why didn't you whistle back?"

"The water was too loud, I guess," Peeta replies. He puts his hand on Katniss's shoulder.

"I thought Cato killed you!" Katniss cries. I notice she is trembling.

"I'm fine," Peeta says calmly, staring into her eyes.

"If a group agrees on a signal, they stay in range!" Katniss still isn't finished. "If one of them doesn't respond, it means they're in trouble!"

"Alright!" Peeta exclaims. Now he's just exasperated.

"Alright," Katniss says. "Because that's what happened with Rue and now, she's dead!"

"You had a signal?" Peeta asks me.

"I was deaf," I shrug, not wanting to be involved. "If Katniss whistled, I didn't hear it." Katniss huffs, and stalks over to Peeta's pack. She grabs a fresh water bottle but pauses to study our food supply.

"And you ate without us!" she exclaims.

"What?" Peeta asks. "No, I didn't."

"Well then," Katniss grumbles. "I guess the apples ate the cheese."

"I don't know who ate the cheese," Peeta argues. "I've been down by the stream collecting berries. Would you like some?" he holds a berry out for Katniss, who swipes it from him. She rolls the berry around in her hand, staring at it.

Then a cannon fires. I tense, sword still in hand, preparing for an attack. I notice the limp body of Foxface ascending into a hovercraft. Peeta grabs Katniss and shoves her towards a tree. "Climb. He'll be here in a second, we need to be up higher."

"I'll hold him off," I volunteer, unafraid.

Katniss resists, and escapes Peeta's grasp. She looks so calm. "No, Peeta, she's your kill, not Cato's."

"What? I haven't even seen her since the first day," Peeta retorts. "How could I have killed her?" Katniss holds out the berries. I'm perplexed. Katniss takes a while to explain what happened to us. Apparently, Foxface stole from the Careers camp, taking just enough to survive but not too much so as to be noticed. She wouldn't question berries we were going to eat ourselves, so she took some of Peeta's poisonous berries, and just...you know. Ate them.

"I wonder how she found us," Peeta says. He must be on a mission to make me laugh at him today. "My fault, I guess, if I'm as loud as you say."

Katniss must really love him, because she says, "And she's very clever. Or was. Until you outfoxed her."

"Not on purpose. Doesn't seem fair. We would've both been dead if she hadn't eaten them first." He pauses. "Wait. No, we wouldn't. You recognized those, didn't you, Katniss?"

"We call them nightlock," Katniss replies.

"Even the name sounds deadly," Peeta sighs. "I'm sorry, guys. I really thought they were the same ones you gathered."

"Don't apologize," Katniss says. "We're one step closer to being home, right?"

"I'll get rid of the rest," Peeta says. He gathers up the berries in a sheet of plastic, careful not to touch them.

"Wait!" Katniss exclaims, and Peeta freezes. "If they fooled Foxface, I bet they could fool Cato!"

I catch on. "If he's chasing us, we could pretend to drop them or something!"

"And then, hello District 12!" Peeta finishes, smiling. We dump all the berries into the sack that belonged to the boy from District 1.

"He'll know where we are now," Peeta says.

"Let's make a fire. Right now," Katniss suggests.

"Are you ready to face him?" Peeta asks.

"I am," I say. "I'm not scared of some little rich kid."

"I'm just ready to eat," Katniss says. "We should cook our food while we have the chance. If he knows we're here, he knows. But he'll probably assume we were hunting Foxface, which means Peeta's recovered. He also knows there's three of us. The fire means we're inviting him here as well. Would you show up?"

"Yeah," I say.

"Well you're not scared of anything," Peeta argues. "I wouldn't, and he probably won't either." I shrug, and Peeta starts a fire for us. We cook our meat, and before long, we're on the move with a rabbit leg for each of us. Cato didn't come. I was sorely disappointed. I really wanted to show him up again.

"Let's head to higher ground," Katniss says. "Make camp in a tree somewhere, then hunt some more tomorrow."

"Link and I can't climb like you," Peeta objects. "Especially with my leg. Plus, I doubt I could fall asleep fifty feet above the ground."

"It isn't safe out in the open," Katniss sighs.

"Let's head back to the cave," Peeta suggests. "It's near water and easy to defend."

Katniss sighs, but considers the question. Then she stands on her tiptoes and kisses Peeta on the cheek. "Sure. Let's head back to the cave."

Peeta looks relieved. He was probably expecting another argument. I know I was. "That was easy," he says simply.

We spend the next several hours trudging back to the cave. We walk in the stream so Peeta will be quieter and it doesn't leave tracks. The hike back is exhausting for Katniss and Peeta. Several days of doing nothing then suddenly walking around all day has tired them out. I'm fine, but I am looking forward to a nice time sitting down in the cave. I would say sleeping, but Katniss and Peeta are way too tired to keep watch, making it my job once again. Finally, we make it back to the cave. Katniss serves dinner, but Peeta falls asleep while he's eating. I help Katniss get him in the sleeping bag, and we finish eating quietly.

"You sleep, I'll keep watch," Katniss volunteers from her spot next to Peeta.

"No, I'm good," I reply with a smile.

"Are you sure?" Katniss sighs. "You always keep watch. You haven't slept in days!"

"I don't need sleep like you do," I shrug. "In Hyrule, it was very common for me to not sleep very often."

"Did everyone else stay awake like that?" Katniss asks.

"No, just me," I answer. "I guess the Goddesses made me like that. You know, so I could always be saving the world, not wasting my time sleeping. Kind of pointless though, since I ended up failing."

Katniss shrugs, and turns to go to sleep. Shortly after, the anthem plays, Foxface is in the sky, and then I'm left completely alone. Watch tonight is incredibly boring. Not even any rain to watch. Outside our shelter is totally still, nothing interesting to see. My thoughts turn towards the end of the Hunger Games. We could actually win! I never even thought about the possibility before. I simply assumed I would die as a failed hero, completely forgotten here and in Hyrule. But now, I know that Hyrule and Panem are one and the same, and I could possibly save them both someday. If Katniss, Peeta and I win, maybe I can overthrow the Capitol. I will definitely try.

The next morning, I wait patiently for Katniss and Peeta to wake up. I find myself struggling to stay awake. It doesn't take long, and soon we're all up. "Ready for more hunting?" I ask.

Peeta laughs. "Not with you in that condition! Have you seen yourself?"

"No," I reply, confused.

"You have bags under your eyes," Katniss says. "You must be exhausted."

"A little tired," I admit, stifling a yawn.

"You need to sleep, Link," Peeta says gently. "We'll hunt when you wake up."

"You better wake me if Cato shows up," I say.

"We will," Katniss promises.

"Okay," I sigh. I lean against the cold, stone floor of the cave, and close my eyes. Sleep easily finds me, and I'm out before my eyelids are completely down.


	22. Chapter 22

**Author's Disclaimer: I do not own the Legend of Zelda or The Hunger Games. I am earning no profit from this story other than the enjoyment of writing it and sharing it with others. I hope you all enjoy reading it! Feel free to let me know what you think by giving this chapter a review.**

Obviously, Cato doesn't make an appearance because when I wake up it's clearly the afternoon. "How long do you think we have before the Gamemakers drive us together?" Katniss is asking.

"Well, Foxface died about a day ago, so there's been plenty of time for everyone watching to place bets and get bored. I guess it could happen at any moment," Peeta replies.

"I wonder how they'll do it," Katniss says.

Peeta says nothing.

"I'm ready to hunt when you guys are," I interrupt. They both are startled.

"I didn't realize you woke up!" Peeta exclaims.

I shrug. "Well, I did." Everyone laughs.

"We should eat as much as we can in case we run into trouble," Katniss suggests. She begins dividing up our food. We each get a ton of rabbit, some roots and greens, and a roll with cheese. The food doesn't last long, and soon we're all helping to pack up our gear. We exit our cave, prepared to fill up our waterskins. There's one problem. The stream is bone dry. Katniss pats the riverbed.

"Not even a little damp," she says.

"The lake," Peeta says simply. I give him a confused look. "That's where they want us to go," he explains.

"Maybe the ponds still have some water," Katniss says hopefully.

"We can check," Peeta decides reluctantly. We quickly trek to the little pond, and it is empty as expected. Without a word, we turn around and head towards the lake. It no longer matters that Peeta's footsteps fall thunderously upon the hard-packed earth. We will face Cato today, and then I will face President Snow tonight. I am hoping he will have lost the magic Ganondorf once wielded, being his ancestor and all. I am hoping that the magic faded with each generation. We quickly arrive at the lake, though it is nearly evening since we began our journey so late in the day. Katniss insists on circling the Cornucopia to make sure Cato didn't hide in there. After finding it empty, we walk to the lakeshore and fill our waterskins. Dusk approaches quickly.

"We don't want to fight him in the dark," Katniss says. "There's only one pair of glasses."

"Want to head back to the cave?" Peeta asks.

"Either that or find a tree," Katniss replies. "But let's give him another half an hour or so." We sit on the very edge of the lake in plain sight. We have no reason to hide. All three of us want the Games to end today. And if Cato shows up, then they will end. We sit in silence for a long time.

Eventually Katniss whistles Rue's four note tune. The mockingjays around us immediately pick it up and begin singing it over and over again. It sounds wonderful, each bird singing the same song like a choir from heaven. I pull out the Ocarina of Time, wanting to attempt to play it. Even though I've never played an ocarina, or any instrument for that matter, my fingers curl around the legendary treasure naturally. I hold it up to my lips, and instinct alone tells me what to do. I play Rue's song along with the mockingjays twice, then add a few more notes to the song. Katniss and Peeta gasp, and I open my eyes, searching for Cato. Instead, I see flowers blooming out of the bone-dry dirt next to the lake, the field of flowers I'm creating spreading out from me in a spiral fashion. Each blossom is healthy, and a vibrant yellow. Katniss gingerly fingers one of the flowers, a smile on her face. But the song does more than that. I watch in fascination as the scar on Peeta's leg fades away, any cuts or bruises on myself disappear, and any wounds Katniss has vanish.

"I told you it was magic," I say, holding up the Ocarina fondly.

Peeta plucks one of the flowers out of the ground, only for a new one to grow in its place. He holds out the beautiful blossom to Katniss. "For you," he says gently, his eyes staring into hers. She meets his gaze and takes the flower from his hand. Then they lean in and kiss. I look away.

Thankfully, my good friend Cato interrupts their romantics. He barrels through the bushes, each step taking out dozens of my beautiful flowers. I snarl, put the Ocarina of Time away, and draw the Master Sword. Katniss and Peeta are standing beside me in a flash, Peeta with his knife, Katniss with her bow.

Katniss fires an arrow, but it bounces off Cato's chest. "He's got some kind of body armor!" she shouts to us. Then Cato is upon us. But he pays us no mind, just runs right past us, not even bothering to look at us. I realize he's running from something, not towards us, and quickly look behind me. Huge humanoid wolves emerge from the forest, howling and yapping. I shove Peeta and Katniss away from them and turn to face my new enemies.

"Go!" I cry. "I'll hold them off!"

"Link, no!" Peeta screams, but Katniss drags him towards the Cornucopia. I refocus on the problem at hand. The wolves are upon me, and I notice their claws. At least four inches long, and as sharp as any normal sword.

Luckily for me, I have the Master Sword, which is definitely sharper than the wolves' claws. I feel the wolf become active again, more active than it's been in days. I fight relentlessly, but there are too many of them. Each one I strike with my sword, another one rises to take its place. Katniss is firing arrows at them, but they still keep coming. I'm fighting too many at once, and one lands a blow on my right arm. Blood begins to run from the wound, creating a trail of red that runs down onto my field of flowers, staining the beautiful blossoms with blood. I pay it no mind, and keep fighting, but holding my shield up is much harder now. I struggle to keep it up. Eventually, I end up dropping it on accident, my right arm too weak to hold the solid metal plate. I don't back down. I continue to hack with the Master Sword, no matter how badly outnumbered I am. A wolf gets a slice along my leg, and I'm forced down onto one knee. I'm breathing heavily, bleeding badly, and slowly tiring out. Even so, wolf after wolf falls to my blade, and I actually notice a decrease in their numbers. Blood runs from a cut in my forehead, getting into my eyes. I can't see. I swing blindly, but the wolves know they have won. All of a sudden, they are all on me, and I know I'm finished. I keep thrashing. I will go down like Rue, amongst the flowers. I will go down like Midna, fighting for what I believe in.


	23. Chapter 23

**Author's Disclaimer: I do not own the Legend of Zelda or The Hunger Games. I am earning no profit from this story other than the enjoyment of writing it and sharing it with others. I hope you all enjoy reading it! Feel free to let me know what you think by giving this chapter a review.**

Then all of a sudden, they are lifted off me. I am certain I have died. I open my eyes and notice the blood has been wiped away. But if I died, why does everything hurt? I regain my senses and realize I'm still in the arena. I'm not dead. Not yet, anyway. I hear someone calling my name.

"Link! Link!" Katniss is screaming. I realize she is standing over me, firing arrow after arrow at the wolves. Peeta is beside her, slashing with his knife. There are few wolves left. Cato is nowhere to be seen. Both Katniss and Peeta have fresh wounds, and blood runs freely from several of them. The meadow of flowers that has become our battleground is covered in blood both from us and the wolves. I struggle to stand up, grasp the Master Sword, and weakly swing at any oncoming attackers. I am breathing heavily, but both Katniss and Peeta ensure that no other mutts can claw me. Slowly but surely, our ragtag little group takes down the remaining wolves. We stand there panting, surrounded by yellow flowers and bloodred corpses.

Then from behind me I hear a snicker. "Well, well," Cato teases, walking towards us confidently. I dimly note he is completely unharmed. "Our star-crossed lovers and their little hero survived the wolf attack. Too bad they won't survive the Hunger Games." He unsheathes his sword and brandishes it in front of me. I show him the Blade of Evil's Bane, but I know we will lose this fight. Peeta is armed with a knife, Katniss is out of arrows, and I can barely stand. But it is not our disadvantage that guarantees our loss in this fight. I have fought tougher enemies than this bratty rich kid in worse condition than this. What guarantees our loss, is that I don't want to kill him. That I won't kill him. Even if he is out to kill me, to kill Katniss, to kill Peeta, he is still innocent. He was raised knowing that he might one day enter the Hunger Games, that he might die to the Gamemakers barbaric form of entertainment. Even if his last remark was snarky, I would have done the same thing if my opponents were in the condition we are. He is fighting to survive just as much as we are, even if he plays it up to be for the glory of District 2 or whatever. So, he will win, simply because I can't bring myself to kill him. Because I won't let him die at the hand of the legendary benevolent Master Sword. Because I won't let him die at the hand of a hero, even a failed one.

Katniss looks me right in the eye, and I can see the gears turning in her head. I know she can tell how I feel and is looking for a way around it. "Show him the wolf," she says quietly. Oh yeah! The wolf! The wolf doesn't care about any of the things I just listed. It is willing, but more than that, wanting to kill Cato. It sees him as a threat to his pack, Katniss and Peeta, as a complete jerk since he insulted wolves with his previous comment, and as the only thing standing between it and an escape from this hellish arena. I nod to Katniss, and release control of my left hand. It flies down into my bag, tightly grasping the Twilight Crystal. The wolf is out in an instant, snarling at Cato. I completely and totally relinquish control. I always maintained a bit of control over the wolf, but today I want nothing to do with what it's about to do. I am merely a spectator for the fight that is about to take place, the wolf versus Cato.

The wolf charges an extremely stunned Cato. He is barely able to raise his sword before the wolf is upon him. It slows down, not daring to get too close to the deadly blade. And so begins their haunting dance of life and death. With each swing of Cato's sword, the wolf's ears twitch, trying to tell if it has enough time for an attack. The beast nimbly dodges each and every blow Cato throws at it, despite its numerous injuries, making him more and more enraged. Eventually, Cato is so furious, he swings his sword straight down. The wolf evades the strike easily, and watches, slightly amused, as Cato's blade gets stuck in the hard-packed earth. Then it attacks, dashing up to the disarmed, off balance tribute. It pounces, its teeth digging into Cato's body armor. Even if he has armor, it was clearly designed only for deflecting Katniss's arrows. It is not nearly strong enough to hold up against an enraged wolf's bite. The wolf's jaws tear through the armor and Cato's clothes, and then layer upon layer of skin. Cato howls in pain, and blood begins to run from his leg. He stumbles backwards, finally pulling his sword out of the ground, forcing the wolf back on the defensive. They continue their little dance for a while, the wolf dodging, Cato swinging, before the wolf gets a little cocky. It dashes in towards Cato after he throws a weak swing over its head. I quickly realize it doesn't have near enough time to attack Cato without getting smashed by the blade. And if the wolf dies, so do I. I encourage it to slow down, to stop, but it doesn't listen. We are going to be crushed. In a last-ditch effort to not die, I regain just a slight bit of control, and force the wolf to flatten itself against the ground.

We both heave a sigh of relief as the sword whooshes over our head, just barely missing. Then the wolf is filled with shame. It knows I saved it. Saved us. I encourage it to keep fighting, even when it offers to let me help. I want nothing to do with this battle. It is happy I'm not mad at it, and scampers away from Cato's next blow, feeling a little sheepish. The beast is much more careful now. Really, we could just dodge until Cato bleeds out because that one bite was so deep. And the wound is affecting him. His strikes are weaker and less controlled. The wolf is more than happy to take advantage of his weak foe, ignoring its own injuries. Like I said, we're used to fighting upon death's doorstep. A little adrenaline goes a long way for us. Cato keeps getting slower and slower, allowing the wolf to get in more and more nips at his heels. Both of said heels are bleeding badly, and Cato is now struggling to even remain standing. His sword quivers in his hand, and I know his end is near. He completely throws himself off balance with his next swing, leaving his neck exposed. The wolf wants to toy with its prey some more, but I'm done watching Cato suffer. I tell the wolf to finish him, gently reminding it of the debt it owes me. You know, saving our lives. It agrees, and pounces on Cato, quickly ending him with a bite on his neck. The wolf lands on its feet, and I put it back inside. I turn to my allies.

Katniss is looking at Cato's body with a sort of satisfaction, but Peeta and I share the same look. One of disdain, of disgust. The Capitol will find no victory dancing in my eyes because of my kill. The cannon fires, and all three of us breathe in relief. We've won! We can escape our nightmarish prison now! We wait expectantly for the hovercraft to retrieve us and Cato's body. But it doesn't come. Nothing happens.

"Hey! What's going on?" Katniss cries.

"Maybe it's the body," Peeta suggests. "Maybe we have to move away from it." Katniss looks unsure of that, but I shrug. We walk away from the corpse, me slightly limping. My adrenaline is fading. We watch as the hovercraft retrieves Cato's corpse, but still hear no victory trumpets or anything like that.

"What are they waiting for?" Peeta asks.

"I don't know," Katniss sighs. We just kind of stand there, unsure of what to do.

Suddenly, Claudius Templesmith is talking to us. "Greetings to the final contestants of the Seventy-fourth Hunger Games. The earlier revision has been revoked. Closer examination of the rule book has disclosed that only one winner will be allowed," he says. "Good luck, and may the odds ever be in your favor." There is a sound of static, and then silence as we all digest the new information. Only one winner? But we couldn't possibly kill each other! If I couldn't kill Cato, I definitely can't kill Peeta or Katniss.

"If you think about it, it's not that surprising," Peeta says simply. We are all tense, all staring at each other, waiting for one to make a move. Peeta raises his knife, and I lower my head. I will not fight him. My right hand is desperately holding my left, keeping the wolf from coming out. It wants to run, to hide, or even fight. It is enraged at me for letting our lives be taken willfully. Then I hear a splash and look up. Peeta's knife is no longer in his hands. I assume it's now at the bottom of the lake. Katniss has her bow pointed at him, but she quickly puts it down, and lowers her eyes.

"No," Peeta says quickly, "Do it." He shoves the bow towards Katniss again.

"I can't," she cries, "I won't."

"Link, please," Peeta says to me. I look away from him.

"I would never," I reply. "You'd have to make me."

"I don't want to stay here alone," Peeta says, his eyes clouding up. "It would be unbearable.

"Then you shoot me!" Katniss and I say in unison.

"You know I can't," Peeta says. "Listen, we know they have to have a victor. It can only be one of us. Please take it. For me." I'm unsure who he's speaking to.

Katniss clearly thinks it's me. "What about Link?" she exclaims. "His loved one is dead! He can win for us and we can be together!"

She might as well have just stabbed me with a knife. No wait, stabbing me would've felt better than that sentence. "Why do you think I don't want this?" I scream at her. "So, I can be with Midna again! So, I can stop regretting my failures! So, I can stop learning more and more about the world I didn't save!"

Katniss is breathing hard, but I can see the gears clicking again. She's working on a plan. She fumbles with the pouch holding the berries and pulls some out.

"No!" Peeta yells. "I won't let you!"

"Trust me," she says calmly. He lets go. She pours a handful of berries into Peeta's open palm, then into her own. Understanding, I hold out my hand, and she fills it up as well. "On the count of three?" she asks.

Peeta gives her a peck on the cheek and says, "On the count of three." We stand in a sort of triangle, our backs pressed together. "Hold them out," Peeta says. "I want everyone to see."

We stand still for a few seconds, taking in what might be our last look at this world. "One." Maybe they will let us die. But that wouldn't be so bad. "Two." Hello Midna. Hello Ilia. "Three." And if you don't hate me, hello Zelda. I push the berries into my mouth, just barely having the strength to restrain the wolf from spitting them out.

Trumpets begin to blare, and Claudius Templesmith's frantic voice calls out, "Stop! Stop! Ladies and gentlemen, I am pleased to present the victors of the Seventy-fourth Hunger Games, Katniss Everdeen, Peeta Mellark, and Link Ordonia! I give you- the tributes of District 12!"

We all quickly spit the berries out and wash our mouths with lake water. Then Peeta and Katniss hug each other. "You didn't swallow any?" Katniss asks.

He shakes his head. "You?"

"I guess I'd be dead by now if I did," she replies.

Then the Capitol plays the audience's roars over the arena speakers, and I keel over in pain. They are so loud! But I guess after noticing my reaction, they quiet down. A hovercraft appears, and three ladders descend. I grab one, but Katniss and Peeta share one. The electric current freezes us, and this time I do not resist. But as we ascend, all the pain from my battle with the mutts catches up to me. With my adrenaline completely gone, I realize that I am truly injured badly. Blood is rushing from my arms, my legs, and that gash in my forehead. And all those wounds are agonizing! I feel the pain of a thousand needles stabbing me in my forehead alone. All my other cuts hurt just as bad or worse. When the freeze current releases us, I slump to the ground and everything goes black. Before I completely lose consciousness, I barely hear Katniss cry my name.


	24. Chapter 24

**Author's Disclaimer: I do not own the Legend of Zelda or The Hunger Games. I am earning no profit from this story other than the enjoyment of writing it and sharing it with others. I hope you all enjoy reading it! Feel free to let me know what you think by giving this chapter a review.**

When I wake up, I am in a room with countless tubes inserted into my arms. I attempt to rip the tubes out, before realizing I am constrained by a steel bar over my chest, not allowing me to move my arms. I snarl and try to wiggle my way out. Some sort of liquid ebbs into me from one of my tubes, and I feel sleepy. I resist, not wanting to fall asleep again. I am awake. I feel fine. Why can't I leave this bed? But the pull is too strong, and I slip into unconsciousness again. This goes on for a while. I wake up, I'm fed, then forced back to sleeping. Every time I resist, wanting to wake up, see Katniss and Peeta, and maybe even Effie and Haymitch. But every time, it is too strong, and I am pulled back under.

Finally, I wake up with no more tubes in my arms. I sit up quickly but realize I'm not sure what I'm supposed to do. Probably just sit here some more. Well, that's not happening. I let out an involuntary gasp as I stare down at myself. Every scar not only from the arena, but from every close call I've had with dungeon bosses or waves of enemies, is gone. Rue's song had faded away recent injuries, but whatever the Capitol did erased everything. For a second, I feel sad. I remember Colin asking me how I got my scars back in Kakariko. I had told him I fought against some Bulbins on the way there, and his eyes had glowed so bright with admiration. But now, with my scars gone, am I really that same brave warrior? I suppose so. I know it. But will everyone else believe me? I shrug the problem away and look towards the end of my bed.

Lying there is my green tunic and chainmail. I smile, and quickly put it on. Now clothed, I once again wonder what I'm supposed to do. My room appears to have no doors, but it must have one somewhere. How would I even be in here otherwise? I just kind of sit on my bed for several minutes, staring intently at the walls.

Finally, a panel of the wall slides open, revealing my stylist, Portia. "How are you feeling?" she asks.

"Fine," I reply. Then I scowl. "Same way I've been feeling since the first time I woke up."

Portia sighs. "I know," she says. "But the Capitol insisted." Well, then. Stupid Capitol. Portia brightens. "Come on," she says. "I have to get you ready."

"Where's Peeta?" I ask. We're always prepped together.

"They wanted to film your reunion live," Portia says as she walks. I follow her, and we step into one of those magical elevators. We ride upwards, and I realize we're in the Training Center. Our little glass box flies past eleven empty floors, whose previous occupants would never return. Then it stops on floor twelve, and Portia leads me to my room. There my prep team is waiting. They are so happy to see me, but the feeling isn't mutual. They go on and on about where they were and what they were doing when certain parts of the Games happened. I ignore them for the most part, irritated they somehow made even the Hunger Games all about them. But one comment they make takes me aback.

"Are you really the hero?" one of them asks with clear disgust.

"Yes," I reply honestly.

They all laugh. "You can stop pretending now!"

"I'm not kidding," I say quietly.

"Oh, yes you are," one of them says. "You're just a little delirious after being in the arena so long."

"I'm not kidding," I say a little louder.

"Don't worry, Link," another says. "The Capitol will make sure you don't remain crazy!"

"I'm not kidding!" I roar. They back away from me. I'm breathing hard, staring them all down, the way the wolf stares down potential prey. "I am the hero," I insist.

"That's impossible," one says, and they all rush out the door. Several minutes later, Portia enters. I turn on her, growling.

"Do you think I'm crazy too?" I ask.

"Link," she says quietly. "I'm not sure what to think about you anymore. After that story you told, well, the Capitol shrugged it off as madness. But you seemed so emotional. And the things you can do...well...no one else can become a wolf here. No one else knows how to use a sword like you. I just don't know."

I nod. Inside, my blood is boiling. The Capitol says I'm insane! That's just stupid!

"Here's what your wearing tonight," Portia says. She shows me a light-yellow shirt with long black pants and matching boots.

"No, I'm not," I object. "I'm wearing this."

"Link, please," she begs. "Just for tonight. You need the Capitol to think you're not crazy."

"Why should I care what they think?" I snarl.

"Because you'll be the laughingstock of Panem," Portia replies.

I grin wolfishly. "That is where you're wrong. I think the laughingstock of Panem right now is the Gamemakers. Especially, if they were shown up by someone insane."

Portia shakes her head. "The Capitol will kill you, Link! If you continue this hero act, they will kill you!"

"You think I care about that?" I say with a sarcastic laugh. "Everyone I've ever known is dead! You think I'm afraid of being reunited with them?"

Portia sighs. "Then wear it for me. Because I don't want to die." She has played her last card. She walks out of the room, closing the door gently behind her. I obediently slip on the outfit she gave me. But I keep my chainmail on under it and fasten my inventory bag onto the front. I slip my quiver, shield, and the Master Sword inside. Several minutes later, she returns, sighing in relief when she sees I've changed.

"Thank you," Portia says quietly.

"You're welcome," I reply stiffly. "It's what heroes do."

Portia simply nods in reply. "Follow me," she says, and begins leading me out of my room. I follow her back into the elevator, and we ride it down to the level with the gym on it. I am led into a very dim area directly underneath the stage. A metal platform has been prepared for me to rise up onto the stage. Two makeshift walls are on either side of me. Hopefully Katniss and Peeta are behind them. Portia hands me a pair of earmuffs. They are light yellow, and totally match my outfit. "Wear these during the anthem," she says. I nod gratefully and slip them on. Soon, the anthem thunders from above me and I am very grateful I have my earmuffs. Even with them on, the booming music still pushes a slight pain into my ears. The prep teams are introduced. Then Effie. Then Haymitch.

Finally, it is our time. I can feel my metal platform moving upwards and hear the roar of the crowd increase in volume. I leave my muffs on. There, on either side of me are Katniss and Peeta. I smile widely as they rush towards each other and begin hugging and kissing. I sigh and expect to be totally ignored.

Peeta surprises me by saying, "Link! Get in here!" I laugh out loud and run to join their little huddle. I do not receive any kisses, but I'm just happy they didn't leave me out. After quite a while of maybe just a little too much affection, Caesar Flickerman gets out of his chair and tries to break us up. Peeta just shrugs him off, and the audience goes wild.

Eventually, Haymitch intervenes and shoves us towards the victor's chair. For this Hunger Games the single chair has been replaced with a rather large couch. Katniss and Peeta sit next to each other, Katniss kicking her sandals off and curling up in Peeta's lap.

Caesar makes several jokes about all three of us, in particular my earmuffs, and then the show starts. The next three hours will be a nightmare. We are required to watch a recap of all the Games. The Capitol will flash the cameras onto us every once in a while, for the entirety of Panem to see. I am good at making poker faces, but tonight is not a night for one. I will not give the Capitol the satisfaction of seeing me look happy about my kills, certainly not. I contort my face into a mask of sadness and disgust and intend to keep it like that the whole time. The first half hour is about before the Games. The chariot ride, the training, the interview. That's all well and good, but then the Games begin. For the most part, the cameras are focused on Katniss and Peeta, making them the stars of the show. It shows that first night, and now we can see what Peeta was doing the whole time. How he looked up into Katniss's tree, stared right at the wolf, and led the Careers away. Then I get some airtime, dragging an unconscious Katniss to the water she so desperately needed. We run from the fire, and I save her yet again. Then the Careers and Peeta show up. The audience roars with laughter because of my snappy comments. Then I absolutely destroy them in our fight, and they retreat.

Now we watch Peeta as he walks back to the Career's camp. Cato chews him out for not helping fight me. When they make it back to camp, and everyone is rearmed, Cato turns on Peeta. Peeta puts up a weak fight against him but ends up having to run away from the attacking Careers. Cato gets in that terrible slice on Peeta's leg right as he turns to run.

Back to Katniss and me. We meet Rue, and then split up to blow up the Careers supplies. Katniss succeeds in doing so, and I become basically deaf in the process. Rue dies, and now I'm able to hear that Katniss sung a song to her as she faded away. They omit the part where we cover her in flowers.

The next clip is Katniss and I hunting for Peeta, and then the entire video devolves into Katniss and Peeta kissing. I get some more airtime at the feast, and then when I fight the mutts, but that's it. When the moment with the berries comes, the audience goes silent.

Finally, the horrible recap ends with me falling unconscious on the hovercraft and Katniss and Peeta clutching each other, desperately calling my name.

Then the anthem is playing, and we all stand obediently. President Snow approaches us followed by a little girl bearing the victor's crown. President Snow lifts it up, and the audience cries out in confusion. Who gets it? President Snow splits it into three pieces. He places it on Peeta's head, then Katniss's, he reaches up to place it on mine. Then he pauses, an inch away from my head.

He begins to speak. His voice is raspy and old sounding, but his words are as smooth as a snake's. His tone of voice reminds me of someone I've heard before, but I just can't put my finger on who. "Well, Link," he begins. "It's been a long time since we met."

"Are we acquainted?" I ask calmly. "I'm certain I would remember meeting one as high and mighty as you."

"Don't play the innocent little boy," Snow continues, scowling. Beside me, I see Katniss looking at me, clearly afraid. "Don't you remember me?"

"Afraid not," I reply.

"What a shame," Snow sighs. He backs up, still holding my piece of the crown. He snaps his fingers, and I cover my eyes as a bright light surrounds the President. The crowd is going crazy, not sure what's happening. Katniss and Peeta have their eyes covered as well.

The light fades, and I lower my arm. I snarl as I see who stands in Snow's place.

"Do you remember me now?" Ganondorf asks, standing tall. His glowing white wound perfectly matches the glowing white sword resting comfortably in his right hand. Katniss scowls, and Peeta quickly wraps his arms around her protectively.

"Ganondorf," I growl. I grab the Master Sword from my inventory bag. Guards rush towards me, but Ganondorf waves them off. They hesitate.

A fatal mistake. Ganondorf whirls on them. "I am still your President, fools!" he screams, plunging his sword deep into one of his guard's chests. The rest immediately return to their posts. The Dark Lord turns to me. "And I will take great pleasure in ridding Panem of this nuisance myself."

"Not happening," I say, my voice dangerously low.

"That is not up to you," Ganondorf says calmly. He raises his hand and creates a portal behind me. I can feel it sucking me in.

"Not again," I mutter. I begin running away from the pull. Ganondorf laughs at me as I struggle to escape the vortex.

"Still not strong enough are you, Hero?" Ganondorf sneers. I stumble and fall, and I know I'm doomed. Here goes another thousand years. Here goes Katniss and Peeta. I wonder what Hyrule will look like when I wake up.

But Peeta's voice saves me. "This time, he's not alone," he says from behind Ganondorf. He stands up off of his couch, and punches Ganondorf. Ganondorf wheezes in surprise, his concentration breaking for one moment. The portal disappears, releasing me. I get back up and grab a knife from my bag. I toss it to Peeta.

"Catch!" I call. He plucks it out of the air, but Ganondorf turns on him. I know Peeta stands no chance against him with that puny knife, so I charge the Dark Lord from behind. He hears me coming and whirls on me, giving Peeta an excellent opportunity to stab him in the back. Ganondorf grunts in pain and swings his sword down at Peeta. I rush around the Dark Lord and jump in front of my friend, blocking Ganondorf's blade with my own.

Both of our faces contort into snarls as we stare each other in the eyes, my cobalt blue eyes glaring at Ganondorf's unearthly orange ones. We push with everything we have against the other's sword, and Peeta just stands there, frozen, his eyes wide, as he stares into the depths of Ganondorf's eyes. You can see the Dark Lord's hatred overflowing from his orange irises. I meet his glare with one of my own. I show off my wolfish teeth, showing him with my eyes and mouth exactly what he cost me all those years ago. With my eyes I tell the Dark Lord about Ilia, Colin, Zelda, and above all, Midna. By showing off my bestial teeth, I tell him that I will never be peaceful again, even if I do kill him, because I will always have the wolf stuck in my heart. A life on a ranch will never again be enough for me. I push even harder, and Ganondorf is forced down onto one knee. I give one final push, and my enemy stumbles backwards. I slash at his exposed chest repeatedly, and the Dark Lord grunts in pain. He does not bleed. He charges me, and our blades meet again. But I have spent all my energy already, and I'm breathing heavily. I will not back down, even if it's me that's pushed down onto one knee this time.

"Get it together, Peeta!" Katniss scoffs, coming to stand at his side. She yanks the knife out of his hand and plunges it into Ganodorf's back. He growls.

"Enough!" he cries. He waves his hand again, and three portals are created. One for each of us. I laugh, because finally I have thought of a way to counter it.

I dig my bow out of my bag, nock it, and toss it to Katniss. Then I toss her my quiver. She smiles as she is pulled backwards, and Ganondorf's eyes widen, but he can't afford to move out of the way. Either way, his concentration will be broken. The Dark Lord closes his eyes, and I feel us being sucked in faster. The crowd is going insane, watching the fight. Surprisingly, I believe they are on our side. No, not our side. The star-crossed lovers' side. They can't stand to have Katniss and Peeta be separated. I also believe they think it's an act, not really happening.

"Hurry, Katniss!" Peeta cries. Katniss pulls the bowstring back and lets go. The arrow soars right into the glowing wound that used to be Ganondorf's heart. Assuming he ever had one. He coughs in pain again, but simply pulls the arrow out. Peeta and I charge him, holding our weapons high. The Dark Lord parries Peeta's blow knocking the knife from his hands. I slash at my opponent's exposed chest, earning myself another pained grunt. Then we begin to truly fight. Not just pushing at each other's swords. Really fighting. The kind of sword fighting that almost looks like an intricate dance performed at a royal ball. We go back and forth, each taking turns being on offense and defense, but neither gets a hit in. Katniss keeps her bow strung and ready, but we're moving too fast. I know she won't shoot, because there's a good chance she'd hit me. I parry Ganondorf's strike, then go for a helm splitter. I push my shield against his sword, knocking the Dark Lord off balance. I jump up over his head slashing his skull while I'm at it. He snarls, but the strike causes him reach up and clutch his head. I stab his weak chest repeatedly, and Ganondorf falls onto the floor, completely out of breath. I jump up again, and push my sword down underneath me, aimed directly at my opponent's chest. He smiles calmly and easily rolls onto his feet. The Master Sword plunges into the stage and gets completely stuck. I try to pull my sword out of the ground, but it doesn't budge.

"Sword stuck, little hero?" Ganondorf teases. He approaches me slowly. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Katniss smile confidently. She releases her hold on the arrow, and it flies into Ganondorf's chest again.

"I've got other allies," I say smugly. I pull one last time on the Blade of Evil's Bane, and it finally becomes unstuck. I fall backwards from pulling so hard, but quickly pick myself up when I see Ganondorf charging me. I backflip over his horizontal swing and match it with my own. He parries it. Peeta rushes in with his knife, and the two of us overpower the Dark Lord together. We both get in a few quick hits, before he recovers, and we're forced back onto the defensive.

"You fools are on my last nerve," Ganondorf says quietly.

"You've been on my last nerve for over a thousand years," I reply coldly.

"Guards!" Ganondorf calls. "Assist me!" The guards rush forward, armed with guns. I can fight against arrows, swords, axes, knives, claws, and maces. But not guns. They fire too fast, and even I cannot stand up to more than one shot. The Triforce of Courage glows on my hand as they approach. Ganondorf notices this. "You are afraid of my mere guards, but not me?" he asks. "Hand me your weapon," he commands. "And return to your posts." The nearest guard hands him the advanced weapon, and Ganondorf smirks. "Is this what you're so afraid of? This little thing?" he asks, staring fondly at his new weapon. He aims it right at my chest. I know I can't react fast enough to shield myself. But I can also hear Ganondorf breathing heavily. His Triforce of Power is glowing brightly, keeping him from dying. He's nearly done in, and he knows it.

"Finish him, Katniss," I say quietly. "One more arrow should do the trick."

"Perhaps," Ganondorf agrees, "but if I die, so do you."

I ask my enemy the same question I asked Katniss in the arena. The same question I asked Portia a few hours ago. "You think I'm afraid of death? You think I'm afraid of being reunited with everyone you stole from me so long ago?"

"At least the world will be rid of you," Ganondorf sneers, but his eyes are full of fear.

"I could say the same about you," I say calmly staring into his fearful eyes. I nod to Katniss, and I notice her hands are shaking. Even so, the arrow that flies from her bow is perfectly straight. Then I hear Ganondorf's gun fire, and then all I know is agony.


	25. Chapter 25

**Author's Disclaimer: I do not own the Legend of Zelda or The Hunger Games. I am earning no profit from this story other than the enjoyment of writing it and sharing it with others. I hope you all enjoy reading it! Feel free to let me know what you think by giving this chapter a review.**

The second the bullet makes contact with my skin, ripping it apart, tearing through my tissue, agony rips apart my heart. I let out a blood curdling scream. The last thing I hear before I fall into unconsciousness is Ganondorf letting out a scream of pain that rivals my own.

Then everything goes black, and I know nothing more about the outside world. All I know is that my body has become a battlefield. Life versus death. Each one wants me to join their ranks, because right now I am somewhere in between both. I can feel my Triforce of Courage and the wolf fighting on life's side, but death is still winning. I am fading away, my hold on life slipping.

Because my Triforce is working so hard just keeping me alive, because I'm human, and because human instinct is to fear death, the question I asked myself in our little cave in the arena has been answered. Now I know what it feels like to be afraid. I am afraid of dying. I am filled with a chilling rush of adrenaline that makes my veins feel like ice is running through them. So, this is what fear is. It is so different from any other emotion. Sadness is a reaction to losing something you love. Anger is a reaction to something you believe is unjust. They make sense. But this feeling of fear doesn't. Why am I afraid? If I do die, then I get to see Midna, Zelda, Colin, and Ilia again.

I lie in this state of confusion, of agony, of fear for an indeterminable amount of time. All I feel is the same agony from when the bullet first connected with my skin. I can't think straight. I'm so scared, so confused. I don't know what I want anymore. I don't want to die. But I want to see Midna again. Do I want to die?

It doesn't matter what I want anymore. I am going to die. I can feel it. The pain is fading. My Triforce's power is nearly depleted. It needs time to recharge, but time is not something I have. Death has nearly won this fight. The wolf is tired. My Triforce can't help me anymore. My fear fades away. I have accepted my fate. My time as the hero is over, and I have not failed. I defeated Ganondorf, even if I needed a little help. Hyrule will be safe for a while. Katniss and Peeta will move on, and I'm sure that they are just happy they're still together.

But suddenly, I feel something pulling me back to life. Whatever it is pushing death away, revitalizing my Triforce and the wolf. They continue to fight for me. All I can do is wait for it to be over. But the pain returns, and I wish I had just gone ahead and died. Anything to be rid of this horrible, unending agony. The force reviving me grows stronger and stronger, and death doesn't stand a chance. Even so, it continues to fight, and I just want this battle to end. I want to be released from my agony, no matter which side of existence I end up on. Dead or alive I don't care. Just let me go. It hurts too much. I can't go on.

Finally, life overwhelms death and I fall into a peaceful unconsciousness. When I wake up, my eyes are dazzled by the bright lights of whatever room I'm in. I blink several times, and when they adjust, I can see that the room I'm in is all white. The only color in the entire room is the blood stain near my heart on the thin blanket covering up my entire body. My left hand is dangling off the side of the bed, and I can see that all the skin has been melted off. I guess the Triforce worked just a little too hard. An army of tubes and machines are stationed next to me, with many plugged right into my circulatory system. One tube is covering up my nose, and another my mouth. I try to sit up, but the agony returns. I lie back down quickly. My chest still hurts, but it's a dull throbbing not a constant, stabbing pain. That, I can deal with. I stare up at the white ceiling of my room just happy I'm not hurting anymore.

Then I realize that I truly am alive. Instinct sends a flurry ecstasy through my veins, but my heart feels a little let down. Even through my fear of death, it had truly hoped that I would be able to see Midna again. I will someday. It's not like she's going anywhere. The wolf is happy I am alive, but it roars at me for a while about not helping it fight death. I just listen to it complain, since I have nothing better to do. I'll just lay here until someone comes to see me, I guess.

I don't have to wait long. Soon enough a panel of the wall slides open and Katniss and Peeta step into my room. I smile at them or attempt to. It's rather difficult while you're wearing the medical equivalent of a gag.

Katniss gasps when she notices my open eyes. "You're awake!" she cries. They both rush over to my bed. Peeta's eyes widen when he notices my hand, but he says nothing.

"How long was I out?" I ask weakly. My voice sounds raspy and slightly muffled.

"Three weeks," Peeta replies. "Even the doctors were surprised at how fast you recovered."

"Everyone thought you were going to die," Katniss adds.

"How did you convince the doctors to help me?" I ask. "I mean, I killed the President."

"That's exactly how," Peeta says. "You see, the Capitol does have a rule for choosing the next leader. Normally, it would be the President's son or daughter. But President Snow didn't have an heir."

I snicker. "Of course, he didn't. Who in their right mind would marry the King of Evil?"

Peeta laughs. "I don't know. Anyway, the rule if the President doesn't have an heir is that all of Panem's citizens get to vote for the next President."

"Even the Districts?" I ask.

"Yeah," Katniss agrees. "And everyone voted for you because our fight was televised. All the Districts believed your story about being the hero, even if the Capitol thought you were crazy. You gave them all hope."

"During the vote, and while the votes were being counted, everyone was sure you were going to die," Peeta explains solemnly. "But somehow you held on. And after you were declared President all the doctors immediately began working on you."

"So... I'm President," I say slowly.

"Yeah," Katniss agrees.

I'm not sure how I feel about that. I've never been in charge of anything, much less a whole country. My only condolence is that at least I'll do a better job than Ganondorf.

The panel of the wall slides open again, and a woman clothed in white steps into my room. "How are you feeling, President Ordania?"

It takes me a second to realize she's talking to me. "Oh. Uh..okay, I guess. Better than I was earlier."

She nods. She inspects my army of machines, but frowns when she notices my burnt-up hand. "When did this happen?"

"It was like that when I woke up," I reply honestly.

"We'll fix it," she says, smiling at me. She exits the room.

"Does your chest hurt?" Katniss asks.

"A little," I answer honestly. "It's much better than before."

"You could feel it while you were unconscious?" Peeta asks, his eyes wide.

"Yeah," I sigh, thinking of the unending agony I had endured. But it was over now. "It was awful. I've never felt worse pain than that." Those simple words don't even begin to describe the horrible pain the bullet caused me.

"I'm glad it feels better now," Katniss says with a smile.

"Have you looked at your chest yet?" Peeta asks tentatively.

"No," I say. "This is the first time I've woken up."

"What they did is pretty cool," Peeta says with an air of excitement about him. He gently peels my blanket down, revealing my bare chest.

I gasp when I notice the spot where my heart should be. There is a gaping hole there, much larger than a bullet could have made. Inside the hole is a circular object. It is made of steel, and it pulses with light blue energy. All my major arteries are connected to this strange machine. "I have a heart of steel," I say simply.

"Yep," Katniss agrees. She clearly finds Peeta's excitement amusing. Personally, I agree with him. My fake heart is pretty cool.

"Hopefully you'll get all the way better soon," Peeta says. "We're supposed to have an interview with Caesar Flickerman in two weeks."

"Why?" I ask.

"Because the Capitol insists on finishing this Hunger Games," Katniss says. "Besides, it's just an interview. And then we have the Victory Tour."

I nod. More people in white come into my room.

"You must rest now, President," one of them, a man, says to me. He holds up a bottle of lotion. "We will fix your burned hand as you sleep."

"Okay," I agree. I lean my head back against my pillow and close my eyes. I can feel something being pumped through one of my tubes. It is that sedative from before. Only this time, I allow it to pull me under.


	26. Chapter 26

**Author's Disclaimer: I do not own the Legend of Zelda or The Hunger Games. I am earning no profit from this story other than the enjoyment of writing it and sharing it with others. I hope you all enjoy reading it! Feel free to let me know what you think by giving this chapter a review.**

When I wake up again, I'm surrounded by doctors. They are all surrounding my hand. I can't feel it at all.

I feel someone place a hand on my shoulder. I look behind me. Peeta has his hand on my shoulder, and Katniss is standing behind him. "Hey, guys," I say groggily.

"Hey, Link," Katniss says gently.

"How's my hand?" I ask.

Peeta sighs. "Not good," he replies. "It was so burnt they couldn't heal it."

"Oh," is all I can think to say. "So, I can't use my left hand anymore?"

"No," Katniss says. "They, er…" she trails off.

"Perhaps I can explain," a doctor says, stepping away from their little huddle. "Mr. Mellark is correct. Your hand was irreparable. However, we surgically removed it and are currently replacing it with a prosthetic one."

"Wait, what?" I exclaim. "I have a fake heart and a fake hand?"

"Pretty much," the doctor agrees.

"Woah," I say. "How long until I can get up again?"

"Hopefully not much longer," the doctor replies. "Your chest is almost healed, and the installment of your hand is going well. You will most certainly be ready for your interview in three days."

"I've been out for a week?" I ask incredulously.

Katniss nods. The panel on the wall slides open again. A young boy wearing a tuxedo steps into my room.

"President Ordania," he begins. "Another visitor is here to see you."

"Who?" I ask.

"I bet it's Effie and Haymitch," Peeta says. "They've been wanting to see you, but the doctors would only let us in."

"That is correct," the boy says.

"Bring them in then," I say. The boy nods and exits the room. About a minute later the wall slides open again, and Haymitch and Effie come into my room.

"That was an amazing fight!" Effie exclaims happily. "I can't believe you won! And then when you got shot, I almost fainted!"

"You did good, kid," Haymitch agrees. His voice is rough, but I look into his eyes. They are full of happiness, because finally Ganondorf's reign of terror will be over.

"That's 'President' to you," I correct sarcastically.

Haymitch raises an eyebrow. "Well excuse me, President."

"This has been the most exciting Hunger Games ever!" Effie continues.

I glare at her. "As well as the last."

She freezes. "What?" she asks.

"That was the last Hunger Games," I repeat.

"Why?" she asks. She sounds so confused.

I suppress a snicker. "Why?" I say again. "Because innocent children will not be sent out to fight to the death under my rule."

"But the Capitol expects them to continue," Effie protests.

"Well I don't care," I say firmly. "I'm in charge, and I'm ending the Hunger Games."

Haymitch sighs. "Effie is right. It will be hard to do so."

"I still don't care," I say. "I'm ending the Hunger Games no matter what those rich brats say."

"President," one of the doctors says. "Please calm down. Your heart cannot take this right now. It is not completely fixed yet."

I take deep breaths. "Fine." The conversation kind of trails off there. After several minutes of awkward silence, Effie and Haymitch excuse themselves.

"We'll help you end the Hunger Games," Katniss says.

"Thanks," I say sadly. I know that Effie is right. I know it will be hard to end such a long running tradition. But it doesn't matter. I will not allow another Hunger Games to take place. Katniss and Peeta leave, and I'm left with my entourage of doctors. We don't talk at all. They just continue working on my hand and occasionally checking the screens of the computers hooked up to me.

I get bored after just lying there for a while and close my eyes. I fall asleep quickly.


	27. Chapter 27

**Author's Disclaimer: I do not own the Legend of Zelda or The Hunger Games. I am earning no profit from this story other than the enjoyment of writing it and sharing it with others. I hope you all enjoy reading it! Feel free to let me know what you think by giving this chapter a review.**

I wake up again and no one is around. Even the doctors have left. My army of machines and tubes have also disappeared. I am still lying in my bed with the thin sheet over me. I gently pull the blanket back off my chest with my right hand and feel the ugly scar that is forming over my heart of steel. I lift my head up gently to look at it, and smile.

A nasty looking scar is forming for sure, but the Triforce mark has decided to make its new home right on top of it. With my left hand gone, I suppose it had to choose a new place to reside. I trace the three triangles with my hand absentmindedly. They are somewhat distorted because of the scar forming, but the mark of the goddesses is easily distinguishable.

I now notice that my signature green tunic and chainmail are lying on the end of my bed. I sit up and am pleased to note that my chest no longer hurts. As soon as I am propped up into a sitting position, the young boy in the tuxedo enters my room. "Good day, President Ordania," he greets politely, "I'm afraid I did not have the chance to properly introduce myself. My name is Vaneer and I will be your assistant during your presidency."

"Well met, Vaneer," I reply, trying my hand at formality.

Vaneer looks slightly perplexed at my kindness. "I am here to assist you with dressing, since you are not yet used to your prosthetic hand."

I smile. "I appreciate it. Would you mind if I tried to do it myself first?"

"Of course not, Mr. President," Vaneer replies quickly. He sounds shocked I even asked his opinion. "Please call if you need me." He promptly exits the room.

I stand up and find my legs to be somewhat shaky. I lean heavily on my bed with my right hand. Now I lift up my left arm for the first time. I examine my new hand, noticing just how similar it looks to an actual hand. However, just like everything in the Capitol, it's just a little too perfect. The skin is too shiny, too flawless, to actually be real. I attempt to flex my new fingers. It feels really weird. I watch in fascination as my fake hand does what it is told. However, I cannot feel my hand responding to its command. The only way I know it worked is because I watched it happen. I reach out with my arm like normal and attempt to pick up my shirt. I pick up the green tunic without issue. I can't feel the smooth cloth at all.

I quickly discover just how much I relied on my touch before. I fumble with the tunic for a while before giving up. "Hey, Vaneer!" I call. "I need some help!" My assistant hurriedly enters my room. "This is really hard," I say.

"Most people struggle to adapt to a new hand," Vaneer states simply as he assists me in putting on my clothes. "It is fortunate that it is your left hand that was injured, President," he adds.

"Fortunate for most people," I agree. "But I'm left handed. Or was, I guess. I don't know. It's confusing."

"Of course it is, Mr. President," Vaneer quickly agrees.

"Did Ganon, er, President Snow treat you badly, Vaneer?" I ask kindly.

He pauses. "Y-yes, President Ordania," he stammers.

I frown. "I'm sorry. I can guarantee I won't treat you that way," I say in my nicest voice.

Vaneer nods. Awkward silence follows.

"You are dressed now, President," Vaneer states as he finishes throwing my belt over my shoulder.

"Thanks for the help," I say.

Vaneer nods again. "Mr. Abernathy, Ms. Trinket, Ms. Everdeen, and Mr. Mellark are awaiting your arrival. Down in the dining hall."

"Alright," I reply. "Would you like to join us?"

Vaneer shakes his head quickly. "I don't deserve to attend such a meal, Mr. President."

"Sure, you do," I object. "It's just a bunch of friends hanging out."

"I beg to differ, President Ordania," Vaneer says. "This meal is the President and his allies discussing tomorrow's interview!"

"Oh please," I sigh. "Nothing is ever that serious with me around. Just come eat with us, alright?"

"If you wish, Mr. President," Vaneer agrees reluctantly.

"Also, that's enough 'Mr. President' for me. My name is Link and I'd like you to use it," I order.

"Yes, Link," Vaneer obeys.

I smile brightly at him, before setting off down the hallway. I now realize that I must be in Ganondorf's old home. The house is huge, bigger than at least three Hyrule Castles! And everything in it is palatial. The walls the stairs, the floors are all obsidian. I run my hand across a grotesque tapestry hung on the wall depicting my own gruesome death at Ganondorf's hands. The tapestry is made of the softest silk I've ever felt. Imposing marble gargoyles keep watch from their perches atop stair handrails. Dark red chandeliers are hung up in every room, and the ones that are lit cast an eerie red glow across the entire room. I purse my lips. I will not be living in such a creepy house for the rest of my life. I make a mental list of all the decorations that must go.

Here is my list. All of them. We finally arrive at the dining hall after traversing many hallways and an endless number of staircases. Sitting at an ornate table that is made out of some kind of red rock that also lands on my list, are Katniss, Peeta, Haymitch, and Effie.

"Fashionably late, as usual," Haymitch comments as I sit down. Vaneer looks troubled by this statement. He quietly takes a seat near the back of the group.

I shrug. "This time I wasn't even trying. I had a hard time putting my clothes on."

"Why?" Peeta asks, sounding sincerely baffled.

I raise up my left arm. "Using a new hand is harder than I thought. I'll figure it out though."

"Who is this?" Effie asks, gesturing to my assistant.

"Oh! This is Vaneer, my new assistant," I introduce.

Vaneer gives a shy nod.

"Pleasure to meet you," Peeta says.

Vaneer focuses intently on the food in front of him. I roll my eyes.

"Enough idle chatter," Haymitch interrupts. "Link, do you have any idea what today is?"

"The interview?" I guess. I remember Vaneer mentioning that earlier.

"Correct," Haymitch agrees. "And Effie and I have been wanting to talk to you about it."

"Why?" I ask. "I'm the President now. I'm in charge."

"Because the entire Capitol is in turmoil," Katniss explains. "Peeta and I can hardly walk down a street without being bombarded by people screaming insults at us."

"Everyone in the Capitol is furious you're the new President," Peeta adds.

"Precisely," Haymitch says. "Which is why you must make them understand why you'll be a good President. What you say out there today will majorly impact the rest of your presidency."

I nod slowly. "So, what were you guys thinking?"

"Just be yourself," Peeta says. Haymitch looks at him like he's crazy. "No, I'm serious!" Peeta continues. "You're an awesome guy, Link! You're funny, kind, and always try to do the right thing. If the Capitol doesn't want that for a President, I don't know what they would want."

I smile smugly. "Thanks, Peeta."

"If that's what you want to do, do it," Katniss agrees. I nod. We spend the rest of the meal talking about petty stuff like what we think is the most ridiculous fashion trend in the Capitol.

All too soon, a servant comes to inform me it's time for the interview. I can feel the Triforce of Courage working on my chest. I flex my fingers on my left hand. Then Katniss, Peeta and I are taken outside my new house. We are loaded into a very long version of an automobile that has the seats facing sideways instead of forward. We can't see our driver.

The interview will take place in the Training Room's sitting hall as planned, so the drive is very short. In said sitting hall is the large couch that served as this year's Victor's chair. Caesar Flickerman is waiting for us, as well as a camera crew. There will be no live audience this time. As we enter, Caesar warmly greets Katniss and Peeta.

"Greetings, President," he says jovially to me.

"Hey, Caesar," I reply with a smile.

We sit on the couch, Katniss and Peeta cuddled up together and me sitting upright. Someone counts down, the cameras start, and the interview starts.

"So, Mr. President," Caesar begins casually, "how do you feel about being elected?"

"Well, I'm really excited to be able to fix all of my past mistakes," I reply honestly.

"Your past mistakes?" Caesar repeats.

"I feel responsible for allowing Ganondorf to take over. I feel responsible for all the oppressed families in the Districts and the obliterated District 13," I answer sadly. I know that one sentence has undoubtedly made the Capitol even more mad. However, I also know it made the Districts like me even more.

"I'm terribly sorry you feel that way," Caesar sighs. "Well, Katniss and Peeta. I don't think our President would be here without your efforts on that stage. Katniss, how did you feel about shooting that arrow at Snow?"

"Link just nodded at me," Katniss says, and her eyes glaze over. I can tell she really remembers the moment. "And I knew he wanted me to do it. I knew he wanted Ganondorf dead that bad. So, I let go of the arrow, without thinking really. After it happened, and after both Ganondorf and Link were laying down on the floor I had to keep telling myself, 'It's what he wanted.'"

"So, Mr. President," Caesar turns to me, "was that what you wanted?"

"Certainly," I say without hesitation. "I know some people think I'm crazy, but I'm going to say it again. I was the hero from that legend. And after all the pain my failures have caused everyone, I knew I had to take any chance I could get to undo my wrongdoings."

Caesar nods. "Peeta, how do you feel about all this?"

Peeta sighs dramatically. "It was all so crazy. One second, the recap was going as planned, and then the next Link and Snow are going at it." He laughs halfheartedly. "And then Link was being sucked into that, that thing, and I knew I had to save him."

"What was that thing, President Ordania?" Caesar asks. "You acted like you knew."

"It was a portal, just like the one that spit me out here. I knew if I got pulled in, another thousand or so years would go by, all my new friends would once again be dead, and Hyrule would be in even worse condition," I explain.

"If you could go back in time and successfully defeat Ganondorf this time, would you?" Caesar questions.

I take a deep breath. "I-I don't know. That's a tough question. On one hand, I would have all my previous friends back alive. On the other, you guys here would not even exist."

"And why is that?" Caesar encourages.

"Because of time travel. If I went back and undid everything Ganondorf did after becoming ruler, certain people wouldn't marry the people they married during this timeline, Hyrule wouldn't ever become Panem, etcetera etcetera," I say.

"I see," Caesar says with a nod. "But wouldn't you do it for Midna? Wouldn't you want her?"

"Of course, I want her," I say solemnly. "But here's the problem. I assume you meant go back in time to the moment right before I fought Ganondorf in that final duel?"

"Correct," Caesar agrees.

"Midna's already dead," I say, avoiding the cameras. "She sacrificed herself in the previous fight with Ganondorf, so that I could have a chance." I look down at my hands. "Not that it mattered anyway. I still failed."

"Do you think she's proud of you now?" Caesar asks. "I'm sure she's been watching you the whole time."

I snicker. "Midna? Proud of me? I don't think so. The reason I loved her so much was because of how blunt she was. Kind of like me. If she thought I messed something up, she'd let me know. So no, I don't think she's proud of me."

"What do you think she'd say to you if she had the chance?" Caesar asks.

"I think she'd say, 'Took you long enough!'" I reply with my best imitation of her high-pitched voice.

Caesar laughs. "Well you and I most definitely have different tastes in love."

I shrug. "She was the one for me."

"I'm so sorry you can't have her," Caesar sighs. He turns directly to the cameras. "Well, that's all the time we have tonight folks!" He signs off and we're escorted back to my new house.

"I hate my mansion," I sigh, staring in disgust at all the dark and creepy decor I now find myself in the possession of.

Katniss snickers. "I'll take it," she says.

"Really?" I ask. "You'll take this?" I say gesturing to every piece of furniture in the room.

Peeta shakes his head. "I wouldn't."

"I would," Katniss objects. "You could sell it for millions!"

"That's what I'm doing," I agree. "And I'm sharing the profit with you guys!"

"Really?" Katniss asks, wide eyed.

"Yeah, of course," I reply easily. "This money would feed all of District 12 for years! I'm giving some of it to each District."

"That's a dumb plan," Haymitch says, coming up behind us. "You need to have the Capitol like you."

"No, I don't," I argue. "The Districts have more voting power than the Capitol, so it doesn't matter what they want."

"But the Capitol has everything else," Haymitch retorts. "Money, food, resources. Stuff that you, as the President, will need!"

"Well I intend to change that," I say. "And the Capitol only has those things because the Districts were required to give them that. Now they won't. So, the Capitol will lose its money, food, and resources if it doesn't cooperate with me."

Haymitch purses his lips but can't think of an argument. Vaneer hesitantly approaches me. I turn towards him.

"Hey, what's up, buddy?" I ask. He looks confused.

"That means hello, friend in Link's language," Katniss snickers.

I roll my eyes. "Whatever."

Vaneer relaxes slightly. "Portia and Cinna are expecting your arrival, Mr. Link, Mr. Mellark, and Ms. Everdeen. They are waiting in the dining hall."

"We'll be there," Peeta says. "Come on, guys." We follow his lead through the winding hallways and many staircases.

Sure enough, our stylists are seated at the disgusting table when we arrive. "So, being experts in style, what do you think about literally all my furniture?" I ask sarcastically.

"It's terrible," Cinna says simply, looking around the room.

"I know, right?" I sigh. "I'll be getting rid of all of it as soon as possible. But I'm sure you didn't come just to get a report of my opinion on my new belongings."

Portia laughs. "As a matter of fact, we didn't. We wanted to congratulate you on your interview!"

"Well, thanks," I say happily.

"You were all magnificent!" Cinna says. "Every answer was so sincere."

Portia nods in agreement. Servants bring in a huge meal, and we all eat. We discuss the interview mostly, but plenty of other petty topics come up.

After the meal, it's time for bed. Katniss and Peeta are given guest bedrooms, and I'm given a bedroom bigger than all of Ordon Village. The bed alone was as big as my house. It's just too fluffy for me. I listen for the wolf since it hasn't said anything all day. I can't hear it at all. I can't feel it at all.

Where is it? That doesn't make any sense! I'm all alone, so it should have plenty to say about today's events. I hesitantly open the cage in my heart, looking for it. It's not there. It's just gone.

I'm puzzled, but only for a second before I realize why. The wolf also lost its heart. But it didn't have doctors tending to it. My new heart can't possibly handle transformation. So, the wolf just bled out in its cage. And now it's gone.

At first, I'm rather excited. I run to check a mirror. Unfortunately, my teeth are still malformed. Then I'm just kind of sad. I feel lonely, without the wolf around. No one to talk to privately, even if we never agreed on anything. And even if it's dead, I still have to live with strange alterations. I sigh. It's weird to think about, that I'll never have it out again. Not unless I reenter the Twilight Realm, but I don't plan on doing that anytime soon.

I lay down on my floor, rather than my bed, and close my eyes contentedly. I might still have an angry Capitol to deal with. I might still have an entire country to reform. I might still have the Victory Tour to deal with. I might still have a prosthetic hand to figure out. But for now, I'm happy. Plus, I can deal with all that. I've dealt with way worse. Whatever tomorrow brings, I'm ready for it. But I feel certain that the hardest part of my life is finally over. I have good friends. I'm out of the arena. Ganondorf is dead. I'm in charge. Life is about as good as it gets for a hero.

The End


End file.
